The return of sex-goddess Lisa Ray!

I'm 30, but I feel like a school kid about to go on his first date. Such is the power of Lisa Ray. I've done this before – interview stunning celebrities of supernova proportions; but here I am fidgeting away, trying to tell those butterflies in my belly to get lost.

“She'll be here in eight”, the stylist pitches in. As Lisa walks in right on schedule, I suddenly blurt out “I'm very nervous right now”, throwing aside the journalist's rule book.

“Don't be, it's just me!” she radiates; and there's an inexplicable, joyous lilt to her tone, like she's suppressing a giggle or holding a secret, or both. With that, my butterflies are gone. It's Lisa, just new and improved, and she's not wearing her halo too seriously.

It's 8 a.m., a cold November morning in Delhi; The Man cover shoot is set up - an army of minions are doing the lighting and the catering. And then there is Lisa - a vision blurring out the gossamer and whatever else those designers want her to be in. It's obvious that what she's very comfortably in is her own very sexy skin.

I ask her how she's doing, and before she can answer, I punctuate it with “Are you tired of being asked that question?” “No! I relish that question every time I am asked. I feel lucky when I say, 'Fine, thank you!' After all I've been through, it's a privilege!”

Ever since Lisa came out with her blog, The Yellow Diaries, I've read it regularly – it feels like she has already said it all. I say what no journalist should say out loud. “ I've read your blog, news reports & almost everything about you that I don't know what to ask you!”.

“ For someone who built her initial career on a perfect 10 body, how did she deal with the physical changes? “My body was battered. Chemo smacks you really hard and those steroids, God bless them, leave you tired, blurry and bloated!” “The moon face”, I quote her blog - sensitive, strong, matter-of-fact and humorous in equal doses.

You know, humor is a great ally if you know how to use it. But for me, what I struggled to come to terms with was not so much my physical changes, but the nature of the business I am in.

I am speaking for myself, but somewhere I feel it to be true for most celebrities – we are in this business that propagates beauty and illusion, and sometimes that beauty is a result of an illusionary feat. In reality, celebrities are exactly like other human beings – we feel the same way, hurt the same and are as prone to disease. By talking about my life I'm trying to demystify that illusion”.

What about her sex-goddess image? “As far as I'm concerned, I'm even more comfortable with that label now! My sexuality has only become richer.” There is something about surviving difficult life experiences – they lend an aura that is hard to define. “I feel a kind of confidence I didn't have before. I'm comfortable in my skin now and that, to me, is sexy!”

“ During her battle with Multiple Myeloma, her primary caregivers were men – her father and her then long-term partner she lovingly calls Bobcat in The Yellow Diaries. Has this experience altered her view of men, I wonder?

“My mom was ill for a long time, eventually confined to a wheel chair and dad was her support system, so that is what I know of my dad to be - strong, caring and compassionate.

About the other men in my life, I've always had men who are special one way or another. I don't have a benchmark of that generic stereotype of men, though when I do meet those stereotypical men, I am shocked!” she laughs.

With a book deal being ironed out and a brand new TV series for TLC, is she back in the rat race? “It makes me sad to see how our society defines success – its all about how much you've got. For me, it's about finding my own story, writing my own definitions for success!”

The next morning I call Lisa, she's in Jaipur prepping for another shoot. The city of romance and valor is the perfect backdrop to talk about matters of the heart. Bobcat and Lisa parted ways some time ago. 'BobCat is battle scarred. He needs a break – from me' - she had posted on her blog.

“Bobcat and I are still very close, the kind of experience I had with him, it has altered me for life”, she muses. “Did disease come in the way? I don't have the answer, except that he was there through it all; probably he came into my life to walk me through this. Ours transcend the normal definitions of partnership”.

What does love mean to her now? “Simple beauty”, she says instinctively.

“I mean, to me love is just the beauty about being able to care of another person, be it your girlfriends, your partner, parents. Love is about unconditional acceptance without blocking it with definitions. Love is an action, not just a feeling. And its not love until there's evidence of action!”

There is a new 'Raja' in her life; Lisa is all coy at his very mention. Is he of royal blood? “In another lifetime, if not in this one”, she exults. I try to persuade her to tell me more but she seems hesitant. I decide to let it be, and suddenly she lights up again.

“His name is Brett Wilson, he is a cancer survivor, philanthropist and TV host from Canada”. Lisa met the handsome host of the award winning reality show, Dragon's Den through a friend she considers her soul sister.

“She thought Brett and I would have common interests, and we do – I'm not talking just about cancer”. How is this new relationship going? “He motivates me to be better every day, without imposing his views on me and encourages me to live every moment in that moment! I'm loving every single second of it!”

Lisa Ray at Rado Watch Launch in Delhi

Lisa Ray was in the capital to unveil the Swiss watchmaker’s newest collection The Centrix along with Rado’s VP of Sales Olivier Cosandier, Wednesday afternoon.The long-standing ambassador who looked gorj in black gushed about the timepiece

Lisa starts second life

Lisa Ray calls herself a cancer graduate. The actor, whose last Bollywood film was Deepa Mehta’s Water (2005), will start shooting for a film in Mumbai this November. “I’m involved in a project here in India that I will be shooting shortly. I can’t reveal too much right now, but I will be back in Mumbai from November onwards, which is when the work will start,” says Ray, adding that back in Canada, she is involved in a TV show.

About a year ago, the actor-model was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer called multiple myeloma. Over the next few months, she underwent painful chemotherapy, and in April 2010, she was declared cancer-free.

Commenting on reports of her being offered a place in the Bigg Boss house, she says, “Not just that, I received a lot of offers after the news of my treatment came out. But I wanted to wait for the next round. Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing. Also, I wouldn’t have been able to give it time.”

Ray, who broke the news of her condition on her blog in early 2009, says it was her honesty that helped her get through the treatment. “Because I chose to share my experience, people came forth and supported me. It was the idea of becoming a success story and helping someone through it that became compelling for me. It gave me a sense of purpose,” she says, adding, “Even now, I have had wonderful interactions with people. I recently met Aamir (Khan) and Kiran (Rao) at the Toronto Film Festival. They were so warm and good. Priyanka (Chopra) also expressed a lot of support.”

Primarily cured by stem cell transplant therapy, Ray is currently in the city to promote the regenerative science at the Indian Stem Cell Conclave and Exhibition 2010. “After I got this second chance at life, I developed a keen interest in this technology. Spreading awareness about it is part of my professional repertoire now,” says the actor, who is still coming to terms with her new life and with the fact that she will never be unconditionally cured. She says, “I don’t understand every way that I have changed in, and I don’t intend on analysing it. As for cancer and the uncertainty, I could get hit by a bus while crossing the road. Similarly the cancer may or may not return, all I am doing is living every second of this healthy life. Ingrid Bergman, I think, once said, ‘The key to happiness is good health and a short memory’. Trust me, it’s true.”

Lisa Ray has incurable cancer

Here's a shocking news for all Lis Ray fans. Lisa Ray has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and she has already started her first cycle of treatment. Multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell, is an incurable but treatable disease. On September 3, she wrote on her blog:"I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on June 23. Started my first cycle of treatment July 2. Not long ago. For me, it was a relief to hear what was wrong." "The plasma cells in my bone marrow were rampaging, multiplying, squeezing out the red blood cells and it was time to begin doing something about it. I was also tired of being tired all the time. So when I sat there with Bobcat, my life partner and reservoir of Yellow, and got the news I didn't react and I didn't cry. I'm an actress, believe me, I can be dramatic. Not just then though," she added.The model-turned-actress decided to undergo medical examination a few months ago after she felt "exhausted, pale and drained" all the time.Explaining her disease, Lisa said: "Myeloma is incurable. It's a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow... Every year, approximately 2,100 more cases are diagnosed. I'm a junior member in many ways, having been diagnosed at 37, while the average age is 65... makes the disease not quite as 'sexy' as other cancers."However, Lisa is hopeful that "it can be cured" with the new treatments available in the healthcare sector these days. "So today with Velcade and, Revlimid and other promising new treatments in the pipeline, our survival rates are improving. But only with an ever expanding toolbox of treatments and awareness can this cancer be beat.So I'm going to do everything I can to wrench the spotlight onto myeloma and cancer awareness. I believe it can be cured. That's the dirty realist in me," she wrote. Lisa was born to a Bengali father and a Polish mother. She joined showbiz as a model and later ventured into films with Tamil movie "Nethaji". After that she was seen in Vikram Bhatt's "Kasoor" in 2001, but stayed away from mainstream Hindi films as she could not speak the language fluently.In 2002, internationally renowned filmmaker Deepa Mehta cast her opposite Rahul Khanna in the crossover film "Bollywood Hollywood". The Canada-based director later repeated Lisa in her Oscar-nominated period drama "Water" (2005), in which she impressed critics with her performance as a young widow.