Love-bites don't lie, Deepika !

The actress who has returned to badminton and yoga with a vengeance, has lost five kilos. And, as she stands before you in a short green dress, she looks dishy. “Dishy is such a sexy word,’’ she smiles, her brown eyes lighting up like beacons on a cloudy monsoon day.

The actress has just wrapped up a rom-com with Saif Ali Khan, 39, and is actually packing her suitcases again for a 50-day schedule of Sajid Nadiadwala’s Houseful in London. “This will be my first full-on comedy film,’’ she says. “And I’m a bit excited and nervous.’’

Her co-star is Akshay Kumar, 42, and when you ask Deepika why she chooses men almost double her age to team up with, the 23-year-old says, “I don’t sign a film looking at the hero’s age.’’ She adds, “The script of a film has to turn me on. There are films that I have rejected that other actresses have accepted and vice versa.’’

Factors like money, too, don’t count for this gorgeous girl who is in a happy place in her career, simply because she’s not avaricious. Deepika who saw Kuch Kuch Hota Hai when she was in Class 6, still says bagging Om Shanti Om with Shah Rukh Khan, 44, remains one of the best moments in her life.

And, though there are legions of fans who wish to see her team up with her real-life sweetheart Ranbir Kapoor, the actress says there is no project on the anvil with the two of them.

Currently, if there is one dark cloud that she is worried about, it’s the fact that she will have to spend 50 days away from Mumbai. “I get homesick when I’m away for long spells,’’ says the leggy lass. We’re guessing she misses two staple things in her life when she’s away — Ranbir and her favourite South Indian dish, rasam. Ummm...