Her unsuccessful stint as an actress has not dampened the spirit of former Miss World Yukta Mookhey [Images], who will be leaving for New York to fulfill her long cherished dream of 'calling the shots.'

"I want to make cinema that is youth and women oriented, along with animation movies for children," says the actress, who would begin a filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy.

Yukta firmly believes actresses should involve themselves in filmmaking to get good roles. "Sitting at home won't fetch you meaningful roles," she reasons.

However, Yukta has not confined herself to movies alone and busies herself with social work. "Films are not everything," she says. "They alone can't define my personality. I like doing social work and have travelled world over doing it."

The model-turned-actress, who won the Miss World title in 1999, takes pride in this work. Apart from working for people affected by AIDS, breast cancer and thalassemia, Yukta has also donated her organs. "This step will benefit someone, once I leave this world," she says. 

After trying her luck in Bollywood with A Muthu's big flop Pyasa in 2002 and the more recent Memsaab, Yukta has also signed two film projects. "I want to do films that contain a social message," she says. 

The former Miss World, who has judged some beauty contests, says the current generation of beauties need to be more mature and spiritual to make it big at beauty pageants. "Just naming Mother Teresa as your ideal will not do," she signs off.