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Lara Dutta, the youngest UNFPA [United Nations Population Fund] ambassador, and the Miss Universe 2000 talks to Complete Wellbeing on the importance of being yourself and loving yourself in Complete Wellbeing's 'Be yourself' special April 2009 issue.

In Complete Wellbeing, every unique theme is represented by a celebrity who epitomizes all the essential factors of the theme. Hence, Lara Dutta also graces the cover of the April 2009 issue because she is one individual who, as she shares in her exclusive interview, has managed to understand and overcome her shortcomings-essential to being yourself.

"Lara Dutta is comfortable and happy being herself, why not? After all, she fulfills the most important criterion of being yourself; loving yourself," says Manoj Khatri, Editor and Publisher of Complete Wellbeing.

Some of the celebrities Complete Wellbeing has covered in the past include Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Kajol. And now Lara Dutta.

Here are the excerpts from an interview with Lara Dutta

Tell us something about Lara, the person.

For starters, I love being me. I take good care of myself because I think it is a big part of being yourself. Also, I think the older one gets the more one needs to care for oneself. I don't smoke or drink [I never have]. I am a pure vegetarian and believe in a holistic approach to good health. I avoid taking allopathic drugs unless I absolutely have to. I propagate and practice homoeopathy and ayurveda. I lead a healthy life and enjoy my work.

How do you manage to keep the real Lara separate from the character you are playing? Has your role ever required going against what you really are?

It is very important to have your very own identity irrespective of the profession you are in. As an actor, I have played many characters through which I have learnt new qualities from each of them. I don't believe in bringing my work home but at times we play characters which require us to acquire skills or qualities that we don't have. These new qualities then end up becoming a part of you and you tend to adapt to them.

For instance, my role in my next film BLUE required me to dive and I was hydrophobic! But this role had caught my pulse and I wanted to be a part of this film. I just wanted to overcome my fear and hence took up this challenge. First, I learnt swimming, then scuba diving. Now, here I am loving water so much that I have become a certified diver! Today, diving means experiencing a whole breathtaking and unimaginable new world many meters below.

How do you manage your psychological wellbeing?

I think my ambitious trait drives me to be the way I am. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to multi-task. I like expansion-it's a very fulfilling process for me, that's why I learn, observe and keep my mind in control. I break my comfort zone readily for new avenues and embrace all experiences good, happy, ugly fulfilling-may be that is why I stay happy and a happy mind is all you need for psychological wellbeing.