Goes the age-old saying 'Marry in haste and repent at leisure'. Not many of us have proved age-old sayings wrong, but Kunika Sadanand Lall is one of those few exceptions.

A dreamy Alice-in-Wonderland kind of child, she challenged her parents to marry her Prince Charming. She soon realised that she had committed a blunder, but by that time, she was pregnant. Unable to win her child from his father who later married again, she broke away to start life anew. And then... rose like a Phoenix from the Ashes!

Today, she has carved her niche... on television and celluloid. Her's is the first name that comes to mind if a male has to be confused, mesmerised and cheated on screen. The art of confusing, mesmerising and cheating lies in her smile. Her's is the first name that comes to mind if a male has to be seduced on celluloid. The art of seduction lies in her eyes. She can safely be called the 'Tube's Queen Of Manipulation'. "I have not kept my scorecard of serials and films," she maintains.

On the flip side, she has just produced a serial titled Strivers and Achievers for DD Metro.

Importantly, she is happy on the personal front too. She has remarried and mothers a three-and-half year old son.

Excerpts from an interview with Vickey Lalwani, who caught up with her on the sets of Manish Goswami's Kittie Party.

Shall we have a little of your childhood?
Why not? Rewind. Ever since I entered my teens, I had stars in my eyes. I used to day-dream of a knight in shining armour (laughs). But on the flip side, I knew house-keeping very well. Like, I could easily tidy a messy room or even cook a meal. Suddenly, one day, I saw a man in a churidar-kurta with a shawl draped around him. I went crazy. I had an Amitabh Bachchan fixation. Amitabh used to dress like that. I told my friends that I'd marry this guy. 10 days later, I met the same man at a friend's house... and we started chatting. He asked me out for a date. I was not even 16! My parents were not too liberal, but they were not the imposing types. They thought that I was simply infatuated, and the relationship would wear itself out.

Then?
Two months later, he came over and asked my father for my hand. My father was totally against it, but my mother kept explaining that he should see it from his daughter's mindset and perspective. We married despite objections from several other quarters too... but marital bliss was short lived. I soon realised that I had married at a very young age; and that it was difficult to adjust to an inter-caste marriage - I belonged to a South Indian family and my husband was a Marwari. One year later, I had a son. Two years after that, the marriage was over.

And your son is with...
(interrupts) He is with his dad. We were fighting for his custody until he was 12 years old. Initially he was staying with me, but his dad kidnapped him! One day, my son himself asked me to give up the fight. He said, "If Dad is not willing to budge, at least you can. How long will this ordeal go on?" That time I was in Delhi. I was working, but my friends and relatives advised me to shift to Mumbai - they said I needed to put my entire past behind me.

How did television happen after getting to Mumbai?
En route to Mumbai, I met Asrani. During those days, Manju Asrani's Kashmakash used to be on air. I used to watch it quite regularly. I went and spoke to him. He suggested that if I wanted to praise Manju's work, I should call her up personally. He gave me her number. I don't know what struck Manju, but she asked me to come and meet her. When she saw me, she asked me whether I would be interested in working in her serial! A classic case of 'being in the right place at the right time.' She asked me to don some clothes and some make-up, and said, "If you look the role, you are on." She sent me to Yashoda, the girl who was doing the clothes. Yashoda called her to say that I looked just what she wanted. The next thing I knew was- we were leaving to shoot in Pune.

Frankly, I was very apprehensive. Manju told me, "You will get as much from one episode of my serial which you won't derive from a 9-5 job in 30 days." I agreed. I, who used to cry every day since my marriage went on the rocks, did not shed a single tear in those four days. I realised that I could not wither away God's greatest gift to mankind- life. I also realised that I had it in me to make a career in television. I got my portfolio done, did some PR with letters, and soon, the rounds to TV-serial makers and film producers began.

Even film producers?
Yeah. I even wanted to taste films. But incidentally, my second break also came from the TV world. Dheeraj Kumar cast me in Adalat.

When did films happen?
Soon after Adalat, I was offered a Pahlaj Nihalani film Paanch Paapi directed by Shibu Mitra. Then I got a lead role in a film called Kabristan. But somehow, people started seeing me as a vamp. I was even labelled as Bindu's successor! Even today, I have a good crop of films- Kyon, Wah Wah Ramji, Dil Chura Ke Chal Diye, Ma Santoshi Ma and Insaaf- The Justice.

What draws you to a script?
I see the script and the people, both. To be honest, I first see the people and then the script. Even if it's the greatest script of all times, you can't work with people you aren't comfortable with. I don't want to spend eight-10 hours of my day with people who would leave me irritated at the end of the day.

How did you get slotted into the seductress-vamp bracket?
(laughs). People come up to me and say that 'I look very sexy on the small and big screen, both'. I take it as a compliment. I don't know how it happened, but I guess it happened for the good. Initially, I tried putting on weight in order to run away from such roles. But then, I decided that why not make use of things which were falling into my lap?

How can anybody discard his/her trump card? I was all alone in Mumbai and I needed work to keep myself from avoiding those unpleasant memories coming back to haunt me. Be it in TV or in films, there's a herd mentality; if one producer casts you in a vamp's role, every other producer wants to follow suit. I guess it all started when Mahesh Bhatt cast me as Deepak Parashar's wife in the tele-serial Swabhimaan. You will be surprised to know that all my forthcoming films have been in a positive shade. But I know that people will remember me for the Swabhimaan and Kittie Party roles more.

What kind of an actor are you?
When I come to the sets, I switch my mind off. That's not easy unless you are really happy from within. Thankfully, I am happily settled today, and have once again become a mother. My husband Vinay Lall lives in California. He is the Director of Operations of a chain of restaurants titled 'Olive Garden'. We alternately visit each other every six months.

Senior actresses are known to throw their weight around...
(interrupts) Hello! How could you so quickly forget my pain and struggle? I can never throw my weight around, even if the serial-maker is shooting his first day.

All that I tell my serial makers is that I will never say abusive words like 'kamini', etc, while enacting a scene. I lose my cool when I say/hear foul language being used against women on screen. Also, I will never smoke for any role. Earlier, I used to. An incident at Sophia College opened my eyes. A young girl who was my fan, came running up to me and said that she seen me smoking in a role (in Mahesh Bhatt's film Gumrah), and since then, she was following in my footsteps!

How is the television scene today in general?
It may appear very rosy from outside, but appearances are deceptive, you know! There are two big ills plaguing the TV industry.
1) Most TV-artistes are grossly underpaid. There are some big banners who pay just Rs 500 per day to their cast members!
2) There is too much of haste while the shooting is in progress. The deadlines are terribly stringent, artistes are not given a breather in between the shots to get into the right mood as per the demand of the next scene, shots are okayed quickly, retakes are hardly any. Focus is on quantity and not quality.

It's okay for me as I have come a long way already, but what about the aspirants who are the students of the game? What about the aspirants who want to evolve as good actors? What about the creative satisfaction part? Things have got so mechanical.

Five years from now?
Either I will be in the US after completing all my assignments, or Vinay may shift to India.