Ajnabee no more: Getting to know Lakhia

Not without them: Director Apoorva Lakhia with his pet dogs

Director Apoorva Lakhia is not complaining about the fate of his second directorial Ek Ajnabee.

"Except for Mumbai, I am quite happy with the collections. Producer Bunty Walia has had no problems. In fact, Ek Ajnabee was made for 7.5 crores and we couldn't go wrong, it wasn't an extravagant film," he tells hitList .

Wasn't an original

Lakhia is amused by accusations of his copying the Denzel Washington-starrer, Man on Fire. "I never claimed that I was making an original film. I always said that Ek Ajnabee was the Hindi version of Man on Fire. In that case, aren't many other filmmakers remaking films from the past? Why target me?"

Returned from vacation

Lakhia, who is a voracious reader (he reads an hour in the morning and two hours before retiring every night), says one of his forthcoming films will be inspired by something that he saw on CNN recently. He recently returned from a vacation in Thailand.

"I was there with Owais (M F Hussain's son)-Reima and Vikaas-Mita. For the past seven years, we have been going away on December 25 and coming back on January 3. We take off to a foreign place. I know Vikaas, Mita and Owais since I was six years old."

And he loves pet dogs — he has two Rottweilers — KD (short for Kapil Dev) and Martina — the two sportsmen he admires no end. "They offer me unconditional love even when I am feeling low." His friends in the industry? "Abhishek Bachchan, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt," he smiles.

The Gods Are Here: Lakhia flaunts his tattooed arms. Pics: Sujit Jaiswal Apoorva's tattoo tales When did you get the first tattoo done? I got it done in 1985. I was just out of school, then. I was a rebel without cause. I had gone to Goa and got it done there — Hanumanji on my left arm. How many tattoos do you have on your body? Thirteen. On which parts? (Laughs) Many are where you can't really see them. How much did they cost? Depends. It ranges from Rs 2,000 to 20,000. Where do you get them done mostly? Well, I get them done at different places. But I prefer getting it done from Ben, a Parsi guy from US who has come to India. He operates from the AC market in Tardeo. I got three tattoos done by him. Which kind of tattoos do you prefer? I prefer Hanumanji, Kalima, Shiva. I prefer all Amar Chitra Katha characters. I still read Amar Chitra Katha comics. Hanumanji, though, is my favourite. I have a tattoo of Hanuman Chalisa written all over my hand. Any sentimental ones? The Indian flag and Superman The longest time spent on tattoo? Seven-and-half hours. It's a Maori design — a New Zealand tribe. That one pained a lot, the way all tattoos do; it's not easy. What are the reactions you got? People ask why have I gone in for something that's painful and permanent. But people love them. And I like them, that is more important.