She's moved up in the first class bracket and looks delectable all of a sudden. As if that weren't enough, better films are coming her way too. There was a time when she didn't have much work. Then Dhadkan happened and it did well and her career moved forward. She did Badhai Ho Badhai. It had Anil Kapoor opposite her and was directed by Satish Kaushik.

Then she got Rishtey with Anil Kapoor again, directed by Indra Kumar and she felt that was a plus for her "because working with Anil Kapoor is a learning experience for me and he's a wonderful co-star." There was Karz with Sunny Deol and Sunil Shetty and David Dhawan's Chor Machaye Shor with Bobby Deol.

Then came Hathyar, the sequel to Vaastav, made by Mahesh Manjrekar. It had her married to Sunjay Dutt and the film went through the journey of her moving from being an ordinary girl to a strong woman. It was a realistic film and different from what she had done earlier.

She seems satisfied with the way her career is going. In Rishtey, she played a fisherwoman - this was a challenge - because speaking their dialect required some doing. “You know how the fisherfolk speak -- in a sing-song tone?", she asks with her trademark giggle.

Did she expect her career to swing so positively? "Frankly no. But then I never thought I'd last this long in the industry in any case. I was just 17 when I did Baazigar and for a kid who hasn't quite completed her studies, to be earning so much and to be recognized was a great high. My first film Baazigar was with Venus, then I did Main Khiladi Tu Anari and then came Dhadkan with the same company.”

The perception that the heroine is less important than the hero doesn't bother her too much and she says frankly, "One has to have a take it or leave it attitude about it. But I don't care. I'm really not here for the `moolah.` I love the adulation, the recognition and I think for a 25-year-old I've done pretty well.”

And what does stardom spell for her today? “A lot less privacy, more pressures, more responsibility towards the audiences and more social awareness. And, celebrity status, of course. It's a very positive change. I've always been classed as this 'glamour girl' not through any efforts of mine, believe me, but an image given to me by people. Now suddenly I have a whole lot of women talking to me, writing to me. Dhadkan kind of fulfilled my ambition of giving a performance and not just concentrating on looking glamourous and it's got me some very good offers. I'm doing some great films now, which would satisfy me as an actress.”

Shilpa considers her ability to keep herself open to listening and learning as her asset. "And I mean that not as a cliché. I don't want to stagnate but I wasn't been given an option earlier. Now I feel charged like I want to keep going, moving forward. That's how much one good role motivates you."

"I got saddled with the glamorous image. But honestly, I take it as a compliment. Only I wish people didn't see glamour and talent as mutually exclusive. Their attitude is 'she looks glamorous, but can she act?`This is something you have to then prove. But you've got to get films wherein you can prove it."

But currently, she's working with hot favourite Salman Khan and even competition from the home with sister Shamita Shetty, who is also in Bollywood, cannot faze her. She says "You can’t see your own sister as competitor. We've always been friends and I'll be very happy if she does better than me. In fact, I'm sure she will. She's a highly intelligent girl.”