The best guys I love are the Sardars: Sofia Maria Hayat

International film and TV actress Sofia Maria Hayat has been making waves on the Page 3 scene with her very bold moves. She had ushered in her last birthday in a bikini. After an unsuccessful Bollywood debut in Diary of a Butterfly, the sexy siren is all set to judge UTV Bindass’ Superdude- Season 2 along with Ashmit Patel and Madhura Naik. Tellychakkar.com meets up with Sofia, who speaks at length about the show and what she feels about desi men. What is your role as a judge in Superdude ? I have an interesting role. I bring a woman’s perspective to the whole affair while Ashmit Patel mentors the boys on how to approach a woman. Then they show me how they will practice the same in the real world. During the audition process, I was surprised to see that most Indian men did not know how to speak to a woman or respect her. I can’t give details as the show has not yet been aired but I could just not believe that some of them had said something really outrageous. I think a lot of this stems from the old school and social conditioning. Apart from you, what are the other changes one will find from that of Season 1? We have added much more international flavours. It is like X Factor where host Madhura Naik introduces the contestants and then brings them to us. She will also join in the judging process as well. This show is quite easy for the production and creative teams who are of international standards. No crazy shooting schedules and ego issues. Many of them being women have come up with great ideas. I would love to collaborate with these guys for more shows to come and also take the format to the UK and US markets as well. What did you find out about Indian men during the audition process? Well, they change from town to town. The best guys I love are the Sardars. Most Indian men have multiple girlfriends. This shocked me beyond extent for that would just not happen among the NRI community back in England. Superdude is really a flirtatious show, full of naughtiness but is of a compulsory viewing material. Many of the contestants tried to hit out at me; can’t tell you as to how I dealt with them. The auditions were indeed funny. What is your take on Ashmit? He is perfect for the job; for he is a dude and really flirts around; that helps me do my job. Both of us take digs at each other but he more than meets his match in me. Would you go out on date with him? No, for we have become real pals, living with guys for a month. How did you speak in Hindi? My accent is cute. I was a bit nervous and thought if, like films, someone would dub for me but here it is my own voice. But one contestant took my heart away when he said that many Indians don’t speak in Hindi, yet you, being a foreigner are taking so much pain to learn to speak our language. What kind of costumes did you wear? Some that you will expect and the others which you will never expect; I have even worn bold stuff as well. Here, you will get to see every side of me. Most other female judges in my place would have just laid back but I am dancing around and having a blast. What’s next on your film career front? Diary of a Butterfly happened, then Naachle London released in the UK. A Goodnite is stuck up due to date issues of KK Menon. I will also do Love Potions early next year and there is one more project as well towards the end of 2013. No sense in just doing films which don’t challenge me. I am looking forward to work with a few good directors. What went wrong with Diary of a Butterfly? Though I have not seen the film but have heard that it has got 1 or 2 star ratings. I would not want to work with many people of that kind of set up again; just for the crazy working hours. Having said that, I rather look at all the positives.