Lara Dutta poses on the cover of the new edition of Elle magazine, looking imperious and every inch the professional model in a flowing Dolce & Gabbana Marilyn Monroe screen-printed satin ballgown. In the article inside, entitled Mistress of the Universe, she confesses, "As a child, my dream was to wear beautiful clothes with lots of make up and get photographed, which is more of a model thing than an actress."

Lara is currently riding at the top of a wave following Blue and is paired up with Amitabh Bachchan for The Actor. Although only half his age, she plays his wife in a semi-autobiographical movie. "The age factor is of no consequence to the plot," says Kushan Nandy, the director "It won't even be mentioned in passing, they're just a happy couple."

Lara recently confessed she often dreams of winning the lottery. She recently gave away over four crores of lottery prize money to the lucky winners for Playwin, a popular lottery brand. "Everyone dreams of winning the lottery," she says, "I have often woken up from dreams thinking I had won the lottery." She then adds, "I may not have won a lottery in the classic sense - but considering the blessings I have received from people, I consider myself so very fortunate."