‘Sita is an amazing wife’

Do you like cops?
(Laughs) I like those who have been good to me. But I don’t bear a grudge against those who haven’t been nice to me. They have huge families to support, their salaries are so low, the stress is unbelievable. They lead a cut-throat life. I respect them for that.

What is your pride and honour?
If I have to bend, I’ll bend backwards.

What’s with the navel piercing?
(Laughs heartily) That’s something I did for my sisters Arpita and Alvira. They wanted to get their navels pierced and I decided to accompany them. It’s purely for kicks. But now that I’ve had it done, I’m finding it fun.

You are the first mainstream Bollywood actor to play an AIDS victim in a film. Comment.
Yeah, well, this I want to clarify. In our movies, people have brain tumour, cancer or a heart problem. Saalon se chal raha hai yeh sab. So why can’t we depict a person who has AIDS? It’s a part of life. It’s a disease that millions in our country are suffering from but still there is so little awareness about AIDS. The best way to educate people is to show it on screen. Revathy, who was my co-star in Love, has made a beautiful love story called Phir Milenge. It’s a romantic lead and I think after Khamoshi-The Musical it’s my best role. Apparently, lots of actors turned down this role but I didn’t even think twice. It’s a beautiful film. You’ll love it.

We’ve heard that your co-star in Lucky-No Time For Love is more beautiful than Aishwarya Rai?
Oh, she’s very beautiful. Her name is Sneha Ohlal and she’s 17. She’s something else.

Amitabh Bachchan and you seem to have formed a mutual admiration society?
Oh, I love him. I think he’s the coolest guy around. He’s my friend. I would do anything for him.

What is it about you that your male co-stars have such tremendous goodwill for you?
I have no idea. I get along fine with all of them and they are all very cool with me. Basically, I am a chilled out person. I don’t compete with anybody, not even with myself. It’s destiny that I make friends with people I work with.

Is it true that it’s your ambition to play Lord Rama on screen?
It’s not an ambition, but the Ramayana is a great script. So why not make it? And we’ll make it really well. I don’t like to do films that only I can watch in my drawing room. I like to do entertaining stuff. I want to make Ramayana in such a way that kids think Rama was the coolest guy in the world, Lakshman was the best brother and Sita the most amazing wife to have and hold. We’ll make it visually beautiful and in a way that nobody will be disappointed.

Do you have any plans to join politics?
Are you kidding? If I join a political party, mark my words, it will definitely lose because I don’t know a thing about politics.