Katrina plays chess with real life: Aamir

With 'Dhoom 3' slated to hit theatres this weekend, the film's cast, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra and director, Vijay Krishna Acharya aka Victor, were in the city to promote the franchise.

The stars made a good impression right from the word go, as they were not fashionably late as their counterparts in the industry. Aamir especially made quite the buzz with his signature hat from the movie.

Talking about his "gymnast" role Aamir said, "I was really bowled over by the script. My brother and I read the script and we loved it. The script not only lived up to my expectations, but I was actually taken aback."

And with the bikes and stunts that go hand in glove with the 'Dhoom' franchise, was the role a difficult one for the perfectionist? "Yes, this movie did need a lot of effort from me. We had to take training from professionals for a month before the actual shoot. The main stunts were for the song "Malang" where we had to perform stunts hanging from a rope about 30-40 feet high without a harness."

Co-star Katrina added, "For the song, we had to spin fast while hanging on the rope and it was a challenge. I was all prepared for it and once I gave my shot, it was exhilarating and I was sure that Aamir could not perform better than me. When I was back on the set after a while, I saw Aamir sitting quietly in a corner and he showed me the shot... and he had obviously done better than me. That was the best and worst moment on the sets for me."

She said, "The one thing I learnt from Aamir was chess. Of course, he won." But Aamir interjected, "Mein toh sirf board mein shatranj khelta hun, Katrina ji toh real life mein khelti hain."

Meanwhile, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra have been the two constants of the 'Dhoom' franchise as Jay and Ali. Talking about his journey with Dhoom, Abhishek said, "Jay and Ali's banter continues with this movie. They are the constants of the movie. Ali too has been promoted better since 'Dhoom 2'."

So, does he turn a reel life dad too in Dhoom 3? "Well, Sweety (Jay's wife) was pregnant in 'Dhoom 2' so I assume I have a seven-year-old child but both the characters have not been shown in the film. Actually, I should talk to Victor about it." In every Dhoom movie, it is the anti-hero who gets more attention and Abhishek says, "It is supposed to be like that. The anti hero needs to be important or it would be just too easy for Jay and Ali to catch him."
Taking over the reins as director from Sanjay Gadhvi is Victor. Talking about his experience, he said, "For me there was not one particular best moment. But yes, directing Jackie Shroff whom I had adored as an actor while I was growing up was great for me."

Aamir added he too had his fair share of good moments on the sets. "For me, the entire process of working with Victor and co-starring with Jay and Ali, whom I really liked in 'Dhoom' " unfortunately I missed 'Dhoom 2' " was great." Adding an emotional touch, Uday said, "I walked in knowing that this was my last film as an actor." At this point, Aamir looks at him with astonishment and Uday quickly clarified, "If there is another Dhoom movie and they are ready to cast me then yes, I will come back."

Talking about the child actor who plays his younger self in the movie, Aamir said, "I had asked Victor to come to my place with the actor and I was prepared to tell him how to go about it. But I realised it was the other way round."

With 'Dhoom 3' also releasing in Telugu, Hyderabad was the preferred destination for their promotions. "This is my first film that is being dubbed in Telugu and to all the people who have not watched a Hindi film before, I come as a newcomer," said Aamir.