After making a successful debut in southern cinema with "Chirutha", Neha Sharma was disappointed when her Bollywood debut "Crook" bombed at the box office. She says she was in denial after that.

"Honestly, my first (southern) film was a huge hit, so I didn't expect my first film here (in Bollywood) to fail. I had seen that high in life and didn't know that this was a possibility too. When it didn't do well, I was in denial and disappointed. I was obviously living in a cocoon," Neha told IANS in an interview.
Neha Sharma with Emraan Hashmi in a still from her Bollywood debut film 'Crook'

"I want to do good work. The first failure affected me. That is why I did 'Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum'," said the actress and added that she wouldn't have done the adult comedy had her first film worked.

"It's something that I would not have done as it is like going out of my comfort zone. But I was like if this is what works, then why not do this," she explained.

It is important for newcomers, who don't have film background, to have box office success. "You have to have box office success then only people will show interest in you. This is something, which surprises me. I don't think it is about talent or looks, it is primarily about box office success," she said.

But she doesn't take success or failure seriously any more.

"I have done four films and I understand it is not something that you can control. It is part of the business. No actor can just have failures and no actor can just have successes," she said.

"I don't get affected whether a film does well or it doesn't. But you do want your films to do well as you put in a lot of hard work," she added.

Her next is Deols' "Yamla Pagla Deewana 2", which is coming out June 7. Directed by Sangeeth Sivan, the film also stars Dharmendra as well as his two sons - Sunny and Bobby.
Neha Sharma in a still from her upcoming film 'Yamla Pagla Deewana 2'

She nurtured the dream of being a fashion designer and acting just happened along the way.

"I always wanted to be a designer and I loved clothes and everything to do with it. When I got a Telugu film, it happened out of the blue ... at that point of time, I didn't realise how big it was. I really enjoyed my journey. Then I was like this was exactly what I want to do," she said.