I can barely fit into a cab - John

I can barely fit into a cab any more

John Abraham talks about cabbies, dancing and being Bollywood's sexiest man

Ram Kamal Mukherjee

John Abraham is looking forward to the Mumbai premiere of Taxi 9211. "I am going to watch the film with a thousand cab drivers today at Regal cinema. I hope after this film, no cabby ever refuses me a ride in my life," laughs John.

On taxis: Cabs form the pulse of Mumbai. I remember a picture in The Times of India recently when there was a taxi strike in the city and all the cabs were parked outside the airport. The yellow and black combination looks fantastic. They keep Mumbai moving and we all owe a lot to them for their services.

On his experience with cabbies: When I was in school a cab driver used to take me every day from Andheri to Mahim. Traveling by cab was fun in those days but now, due to increasing traffic, I think the journey is no longer pleasant.

On funny moments with cabbies: The cabbie who used to take me to school every day had a fleet of 10 taxies, yet his name was Garib Singh! There was another driver called Ranjit Singh who used to drive really fast, and Lambu Singh drove really slow. I preferred Ranjit and Garib to Lambu, any day.

On cab unions being unhappy about the film: I think they should not feel that they have been ill-treated in the film. I think Milan Luthria has tried to bring out the human side of the story. Nana Patekar, as Raghav Sharma, represents cabbies. I am sure that all the cab drivers will love the film.

On taking cabs still: Yes, I do take cabs and even autorickshaws if required. During the shooting of Garam Masala, I had to take a cab to Filmcity because my mom needed the car. The driver played the Adnan Sami track from my film Garam Masala. Later he told me, "Meri taxi aap ki bike ki tarah fast nahin chalegi." (My cab won't go as fast as your motorbike.)

On being uncomfortable in a cab: I can barely fit into a cab any more. See, my height is more than 6 feet. So, during the shooting of Taxi Number Nau Do Gyarah, when my director asked me to sit in the driver's seat of a cab, I got stuck and I couldn't come out!

On cool cabs: We have made a customised cab for the music video. It's an open hood car, which is stylish. I don't think the cool cabs are as cool as my customised cab.

On having two left feet: Sameera Reddy is a fantastic dancer, so it's difficult for me to match steps with her. But I think the songs are looking nice because she has covered up my flaws in the dance numbers.

On getting cold feet working with Nana: I share a brilliant rapport with Nana Patekar. In fact he says that after Madhuri and Aishwarya's 'Dola Re' combination, our jodi is the best in Taxi Number Nau Do Gyarah. Nana told me, "You smile and I'll frown, and we'll make a deadly album."

On making truce with Rituparno Ghosh: I never had a fight with him, to begin with. I am extremely fond of Rituparno as a filmmaker and I never had any argument with him. When he had approached me for Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam to play Bhoonath's character, I was not happy with the first draft. However, I have genuine date problems and my dates with Rituparno are clashing with the dates I have already committed to Ravi Chopra for Babul and Nikhil Advani for Salaam E Ishq. So I might opt out from Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam because of my dates.

On playing Arjun in Ghosh's Draupadi: Rituparno has expressed his desire to cast me as Arjun in Draupadi with Bipasha Basu, but he is still working on the script.

On being the sexiest man alive: I take that as a compliment. It was an audience poll conducted by Zoom Television and I am glad that people have voted me as the sexiest man alive. I am very conscious about my looks and the way I present myself.

* My height is more than 6 feet. when my director asked me to sit in the driver's seat of a cab, I got stuck and I couldn't come out!— John Abraham