Disha Patani has played glamorous characters in only two films, Malang and Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. But more than filmmakers, Disha says, it is the audience that perceives her as a diva, a label she is “grateful” for.

“It is a perception and I am grateful that I have some sort of identity. There is nothing negative about it. To be known for anything is big. I see people coming to me and offering me different stuff. More than filmmakers, the audiences have that perception. Filmmakers are open to artistes doing different things. They think it is better if the artiste comes out of their comfort zone,” Disha said.

The Bareilly-born actress said her upcoming films will present a new aspect of her personality to the audience. She will next be seen in Ek Villain Returns, the sequel to the 2014 hit Ek Villain.

Disha also has Sidharth Malhotra-led actioner Yodha , Prabhas’ sci-fi film Project K, and KTina, in which she reportedly will play a religious, small-town Punjabi woman, in the pipeline. “I get bored easily. I can’t keep repeating the same parts. All these films are different from each other. I hope people see me in a different way through these films, she added,” she said.

In Ek Villain Returns, she plays Rasika, a Marathi woman who believes “greed is good”. “My character is greedy, she wants certain things in life and she will do anything to get it. She uses men as a tool to get what she wants,” Disha added.

Disha, 30, said she is a director’s actor and for Ek Villain Returns, she surrendered to Mohit Suri’s vision. “I follow the instructions of the director. For this film and character, I had to work a bit on the Marathi dialect and on the transition of the character, which was a bit difficult,” Disha said.

Ek Villain Returns also stars John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor and Tara Sutaria.

Produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms and Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series, the film will hit the screens on July 29.