I cannot be emotional and focused at the

Excerpts from the Interview:

Zinda was an outcry! Was your personal distress somewhere related to the outcome on the screen?

As an actor I always try to keep a distance between my personal and professional life. The combination of two only leads to more complications and so I abide by doing the role only and getting into the character in the film. But for Zinda... may be and in a way this is true! Some scenes, the ones in jail disturbed me but other than that the rest of the character I played by myself. I cannot be emotional and focused at the same time. The role was extremely difficult and something that I have never done before. I had to keep a check on myself not to go out of control.

Does the trauma of the past keep coming to you?

I try as hard as possible to keep myself away from it.

There is too much violence and action in the film. How did you execute those scenes?

While Sanjay and me were thinking about the film we had already talked about the violence. Some scenes are violent, I agree. But as per the film we had to go with that. We had to shoot the violence and this is defensible from the point of view of the film. I'm happy that with everything, the film is doing well.

All your films work. What is the secret of that?

Your association with Sanjay Gupta is really strong?

He is a very talented director and makes good films. I've worked with him in three films so far and I'm happy with the success he has got with this film. He is a kind of director I like working with and so in the future you'll see me working with him.

What is your next film with him?

'Zinda' has just released. We both need some time to work out on the next. We haven't confirmed anything yet. 'Zinda' needs our attention right at the moment. We're still sorting the problems regarding distributions and stuff. After all this is over, we'll think about the next.

You're more interested in character roles now than playing a hero. Why?

I'm growing old now. At 46 which director will offer me a role of a young guy. And I'm also thankful that I'm not being approached for such roles. An actor needs to grow with age and I'm just doing that. Age is a very important part in choosing your roles and also doing the kind of films. So films like 'Parineeta' and 'Zinda' are more acceptable for me.

Were you happy with your cameo role in Parineeta?

I've taken the role after I learnt the character. I couldn't have played a hero there. I never judge a role by its length, but only by its strength. And moreover I've decided to work with Vinod Chopra in all the films he does. Even if it's a blink and miss role, I don't mind.

It's good to be working with the same team once again. I again play the same character here but the story is entirely different. This film is turning out better than the former. I've always admitted that Munnabhai is the Mother India of my career. Raju Hirani is a very passionate filmmaker and I'm very happy to be working with him.

What are the other films in your kitty?

I've gone a bit selective regarding my works and prefer to do only one film at a time. Currently I'm doing this sequel to Munnabhai with Raju Hirani. There is also a comedy lined up with Abbas-Mustan. Also this year I may be working in Sanjay Gupta's next.