Rajeev hopes to direct a film in the futu

Rajeev Khandelwal is ecstatic about the box office success of his debut film Aamir. "It is heartening to get such a wonderful response. The movie will change a lot of mindsets, especially those about small independent films and television actors doing films. However, having said that I must add that I am not on cloud nine. I want to concentrate on my next film. I consider Aamir a bench mark and want my next film to do even better," says Rajeev.

Television gave Rajeev a lot of fame and recognition. He played the very popular character of Sujal from Balaji Telefilms' Kaahin Toh Hoga. Why did he decide to leave all that and try his luck at Bollywood? "There was no growth for me on television. I got a lot of fame but I was stagnating. I did not enjoy what I was doing, thus movies was a natural progression," he says.

Will he do television now that he's made the switch to films? "I cannot do daily soaps on television but I am open to the medium if offers me something new and experimental. I did not enjoy daily soaps then and I hope I don't have to get back to it again," he says. How different does he find television from films? "In films, the best part is you know the end. It is all worked out and it won't keep changing according to the TRPs," he laughs.

Rajeev is looking forward to his next film titled Peter Gaya Kaam Se. The film is produced by UTV's Spotboy and is being directed by British director John Owen, who is based in India. "It is a romantic film where I play a Goan character. The audiences will see a brand new Rajeev Khandelwal in this film," says the excited actor who is sporting a lean look nowadays.

"This look is basically for my next film and I have stopped eating rice and chapattis too. I play tennis regularly. I do not work out too much as I don't like pumping iron," says the actor who likes to write in his free time. "I am very happy doing films now. I am enjoying every moment of it. But it's my dream to write and direct a film someday. Lets see when that happens," he adds.