Aya naya Sikander

Are you on some kind of image building? You are being written more about your link ups even before the release of your first film.
Image building… hmm... I have not thought about it yet (Laughs). I am an open person who thinks from the heart. I am taking my first steps. There's still time for image building. If you ask about link ups, then tell me who doesn't like girls. But my girlfriend right now is my work and I am very passionate about it. I am two timing my work with other work. People are writing about my friends because none of my films have released yet.

Any more things you are very passionate about?
I am a huge car and bikes freak. I love the Yamaha RX point 1 and Kawasaki ZX 10, 1000 cc. I like the Suzuki. I am a total bike freak. In fact on certain days we all go out biking, that's Abhishek (Bachchan), Uday (Chopra) and me. Among cars I love BMW and Mercedes G class. I love all the Range rovers sports editions AH -1 types, the Military one. I also make it a point to Jet Ski on Sundays. It's a Kawasaki Jet Ski having 250 horse powers and it belongs to a friend of mine. She is sparkling Red cherry colour and blushes every time she sees me. The machine is being taken care of at the H2O in South Mumbai. We go out into the sea and trust me, it's beautiful.

What kind of films do you like to watch?
I love all kinds of films from City of God, Life Is Beautiful, Scarface and Godfather to the Jerry Bruckheimer kind of films like Armageddon. I also like Thank You for Not Smoking to Way to Sunshine. In Indian films I like the classics as well as the commercial masala films. I love Sholay, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Mother India, Lagaan, Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. I like all Amitabh Bachchan Films.

How lucky do you feel being a star son?
I am lucky in the sense that I get the right kind of advice from my parents. Ultimately it's my work which is going to speak for me. People will come and watch me if I am good. They will see how much potential I have no matter whose son I am. I can't say I am plain lucky and keep quiet about it. I have to work hard to be where I am.

Why do you think people should watch your film?
What kind of a question is that. Well it's my debut film and they have to watch it. It's a thriller. Action paced film which is well shot. Sanjay Gupta's genre kind of film fast paced and well shot.

How much have your parents influenced you?
My parents have always influenced me. I have grown up in a film atmosphere. I have enjoyed their movies and have tried to grasp as much as I can from them. But they don't necessarily sit and say let's start your acting classes (Laughs). When my father (Anupam Kher) signed Khosla Ka Ghosla he used to show us how he is going to attempt the role. The way he used to sit, walk, his hairstyle. He used to rehearse in front of the mirror and I used to watch him. I learnt these small things from them. I am lucky and have the advantage of having them with me. We often discuss the pros and cons. I have two people to advise me and that was the biggest advantage. They were with me when Sanjay Gupta came for the narration they went through the script and told me the pros and cons. When father started his acting classes I was already on Woodstock Villa.

Tell us something about your debut film, Woodstock Villa. We heard you are playing a grey character in your very first film.
The entire film is grey (Laughs). But it is interesting. I liked Woodstock Villa's script, it is a thriller but I can't tell you much about the film. Actually, gone are the days of villains. I am not a chocolate boy hero. This was the first time I was facing the camera. I had earlier faced my handy cam and it was not a nice experience. Apurva Lakhia who is a good friend of mine suggested my name to Sanjay Gupta and that's how I landed up in this film.

You have been an assistant director before turning an actor.
Yes, I have assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Yash Chopra. I had assisted them to learn acting. I was 15 when I joined Yash Chopra during Dil To Pagal Hai. I learnt how to relate to a director as an actor, how to relate to the camera as an actor and to face the filmy surroundings as an actor. When you are on the sets there are a lot of diversions. There is a light boy shouting, the camera man is calling his shots and also the director giving his views. There are a lot of disturbances and as an actor how you have to concentrate on your lines without being distracted is what I got to learn on these sets. I have spent so much time on the sets I have learnt how not to get distracted. I always wanted to become an actor since the age of 4. First I wanted to be an Air Force Pilot after watching Top Gun but then I realised that I wanted to be Tom Cruise in Top Gun. I was very fat when I was young and later I grew tall but was still fat. When people used to ask me what I planned to do, I used to tell them I wanted to be an actor. They used to think, a comedian but I insisted I would be a hero someday.

Are you looking out for any particular kind of roles?
I don't look for anything in particular. Anything that excites me as an actor I would love to work on. There can never be an ideal role. I am not a chocolate hero. I am an unconventional actor. Long hair and stubble, big built. When a director asks me to chop my long hair off for a particular role, I will do that.

What are your future films?
I have signed Raaste with Abhishek, Aishwarya and John. The film is a Suneil Shetty production being directed by Vikram Singh. It's an out and out sports film based on car racing in Mexico, an interesting subject. I have also signed Kumar Mangat's (Omkara) film. Sanjay Gupta has also offered me his next venture. I am getting a lot of interesting offers but until I sign them I can't speak about them.