She is a sex siren in the Hindi film industry.

She makes male moviegoers salivate.

And she has done some pretty steamy scenes with some of her co-stars.

But when The New Paper asked Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu about her kissing scenes, the bombshell first turned coy and later talked about her deep fear before she shoots such scenes.

Said Basu, 33: "I've not done that many kissing scenes... and everybody does these scenes these days."

The Bengali beauty was in town along with veteran international superstar Anil Kapoor to spread the word about the 13th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend and awards, which will be held in Singapore from June 7 to 9.

This is the second time IIFA has come to Singapore, the first being in 2004.

Yesterday, at the interview and press conference, Basu looked breathtaking in a white sari by Indian designer Anamika Khanna.

Her first full-on steamy sex scene was in Jism in 2003 with her then-boyfriend, Hindi film actor John Abraham.

In the movie, Abraham kisses her on the lips and also sexily rubs an ice cube over her body.

The YouTube video of the scene has garnered over 1.8 million hits.

In another film Goal, she shares a passionate kiss with Abraham.

In her next movie Raaz 3 (The Secret 3), which will be released later this year, she is rumoured to be locking lips with the serial kisser of Hindi films, Emraan Hashmi.

While she appears very comfortable performing such kissing scenes, Basu admitted they actually scare her in real life.

"I feel scared before a kissing scene, I wanna kill myself."

She added: "In Jism, I was kissing my then-boyfriend so it was easy."

But according to her, it was tough when it came to smooching Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna Ae Haseeno (Watch Yourselves, Pretty Young Things).

Basu, who has a distinct deep and sexy voice, said her co-stars have never spoken about rating her as a kisser.

"If my co-stars comment, I'm going to kill them," she said with a laugh.

When asked what Abraham thought of her kissing abilities, she brushed the question aside.

Shock break-up

"I don't care what the boyfriends think, I think I'm a fantastic kisser," she said.

The celebrity couple dated for eight years but called it quits last year, much to the shock of her fans and the public.

She is rumoured to be seeing Rana Daggubati, her co-star in Dum Maaro Dum, but remained coy when asked about her dating status.

"Keep guessing," she said with a cheeky laugh.

The sultry star said she has no problem with being known as a sex siren in the Hindi film industry.

"I have played a village girl, I've played a beaten housewife and still people find me sexy.

So I'm going to continue to give it to them," she said.

But she said no one can be considered sexy on the outside if they don't have a sexy personality to begin with.

She said: "I'm very comfortable with my body, I am very comfortable with the personality I keep. (Being) sexy is not just about having the perfect body."

But while she has done some very daring things on screen, she does have her limits.

"I'll never go completely nude for a scene. I'm uncomfortable with that," she said.

She said that while she doesn't feel the pressure to look good, she acknowledges that it is there.

For her, it's important to stay fit in order to live a long and healthy life.

A well-known fitness freak, she added that she is a big foodie and is looking forward to eating local delights like chilli crab and chicken rice when she is here for IIFA in June.

"I have to work out. I'm such a foodie and I love cuisines. If you like food, go hit the gym."

This article was first published in The New Paper.