SRK breaks his shanti on Om Shanti Om

On his much appreciated six pack abs…

"Farah wanted me to go shirtless for a song in the film just like John, Hrithik and Salman have done in their movies. For the last four months, I have been working really hard for this and even started taking diet supplements. I used to do 500-700 crunches daily. It helped that I had taken a 3-month break from work during which I concentrated on getting myself into shape.

Now that I am in my 40s, it was a bit difficult for me but I am sure the youngsters will find it a lot easier. My son Aryan gave me the best compliment when he told me that 'you are not looking fat now'.

Why OSO?

"I was born in 1965 so I grew up watching films of 70s and 80s. My mom was a great film fanatic and used to encourage me a lot to watch films. During that time most of the stars used to overact and Farah thought among the current crop I can do it best. So she selected me for the role. Whenever I was doing any scene for this film, I used to cast my mind back to how people used to act in those days. Kirron Kher helped me a lot in this regard. She is just fantastic in the movie."

The name game…

"I play two characters in the film – one a 70s character Om Prakash Makhija , a struggler who wants to become an actor but his friend (played by Shreyas Talpade) keeps telling him that he would never make it because of his name which is not 'filmi'.

My second character (reborn) is called Om Kapoor – a 2007 superstar but without any acting talent. His nickname is called Ok because his favourite dialogue in the film is– Ok agar koi shot deta hain toh woh ok hota hain.

Deepika's character is called Shanti and hence the name. She is a damn good actress and people should watch this film for her."

More about OSO…

"A lot of stars right from 70s till date like Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and Mithun Chakravarthy have made a special appearance in the film to give it a realistic touch. We genuinely wanted them to be part of the film and all were gracious enough to say yes. According to me, the term 'Bollywood' originated because of the 70s style when actors used to sport long locks, bell bottoms which actually made the Hindi film industry famous world over.

I would like to make it clear that this is not a spoof. It's a comedy which the audience would enjoy just like they did Farah Khan's first movie Main Hoon Na. It's a two-and-a-half hour film and though it deals with re-birth, Farah has handled the subject so well that the viewers will not find it boring."

Music…

"We took help of Pyarelalji to re-create the 70s magic. Vishal-Shekhar have worked very hard on the music of the film. The Dard-e-Disco number will especially appeal to the youngsters since it was made keeping them in mind.

I have been very lucky so far that most of my films have had great music and hopefully this will continue."

On Salman…

"Salman Khan is one of the prime reasons why Bollywood stars are paying so much attention to fitness. I admire him a lot because of that. And now Hrithik too is doing the same. They are my idols as far as fitness freaks are concerned."

And finally Saawariya…

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali had given me one of the best films of my career (Devdas) and I am really thankful to him for that. If it was in my hands, I would not have released OSO on the same day as Saawariya because it also features my friends Rani and Salman. Also, the new kids Ranbir and Sonam respect me a lot.

But keeping personal relations aside, OSO is obviously very close to my heart being my film. It is not a big-budgeted film like Saawariya but I know that most people would want to see both films so good luck to all those involved with the two projects."