8216;I146;ve Learnt to Play it Cool8217;

In Teen Deewarein you play a jealous husband. Are you one? I used to be possessive about my woman to the point of going crazy 8212;- it14...

In Teen Deewarein you play a jealous husband. Are you one?

I used to be possessive about my woman to the point of going crazy 8212;- it8217;s only natural. I nearly punched a friend once when he kissed my wife on the cheek at a social event. What8217;s with all this pecking anyway? I8217;ve learnt to restrain myself for my wife8217;s sake and play it cool.

Ayesha8217;s career as a film producer does seem to be peaking with Boom.

It8217;s her dream and I want to do everything to help. Ayesha8217;s more liberal than I am. For so many years she let me move around in this industry without complaining8212;now it8217;s my time to stand by her and let her work.

Many recent films, including Boom, have flirted with oral sex. Has Bollywood grown up?

There are worse things happening today. We8217;re not selling arsenic in the form of drink. Bollywood has always had its bushes, hillsides and farms. As teenagers, we used to watch the bushes shaking so violently and let our imagination run wild. Today films are a bit more real. We8217;ve always said Boom8217;s an entertaining, masala film8212;for adults.

What keeps Jackie going?

It8217;s the new breed of technicians entering the industry. I8217;m re-growing with them and it feels like the era when I was 25. Yet I8217;m going the Aamir way and planning to do only one or two challenging projects every year. I8217;ve had a successful career, more than most people.

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You play a gangster called Abdul 50/50 in Boom. Was it hard working on an in-house project?

I didn8217;t put unnecessary pressure on myself by thinking 8216;this is my wife8217;s film8217;. I did my job and had a lot of fun. I was a little scared, but that8217;s natural for an actor. We had a supportive unit, which helped a lot. Also, I grew up watching Westerns8212;-Clint Eastwood, The Dirty Dozen and Django-8212;I only wear leather boots.

How many hours do you spend on the Net?

Even when I8217;m shooting, I8217;m online for at least four hours. I chat with my buddies across the world, read about disaster management, fault lines and asteroids. I shop for car parts and read film reviews8212;-everything except porn. The Internet8217;s never8211;ending; it8217;s independent of time.

As a vegetarian, have you ever slipped?

Occasionally, I8217;ve had fish in Goa; it really meant something to the people who made it. Yet I can8217;t stand the smell of meat and it8217;s been that way since childhood.

But you grew up to be a big guy?

Smiles So are elephants.