So you won't lead your life differently in order to hide it from the world. Is there something that you would not like to share with people at this point of time?
I don’t believe in hiding anything and my life is an open book. As and when there is something to talk about I will talk about it. Generally I like to keep my personal life private. I would appreciate if people could understand that. The day I do get married, I will tell everyone. I am not doing anything illegal anyways.

As far as the real life pairing of Ash and Abhi is concerned, it seems a very bright proposition to all your fans, but as far as 'reel-life' chemistry is concerned, it hasn’t really clicked.
It is not about the chemistry of actors, it's about a film. People don't go to see the chemistry of actors. They don't go to see one particular aspect of a film; they go to see the film in its entirety. I firmly believe that the audience doesn't go in to see the chemistry, or to see one song, or to see a great action sequence. They go to see a package, which is the film

Your appearances with Aishwarya Rai have fuelled speculation that you two are getting hitched.
What does it have to do with my film career anyway, may I ask?

It’s got everything do with you.
I don’t understand how it’s anybody’s concern. That’s my personal life and I’d like to keep it like that. I share my professional life with the entire world gladly, and I enjoy that. I am what I am because of the audience and fans. As far as my personal life is concerned, I’d like to keep it private because I don’t think it concerns anyone else. As and when there’s anything to say, I’ll be the first person to say it.

Being a public figure, there’s a lot of curiosity. Besides, you’re also the most hot-n-happening eligible bachelor in tinsel town.
Fair enough. You can ask the question. My answer is that’s my personal life and I don’t think it’s anybody’s concern.

Coming to next hot topic, off lately you have lavishly praised Mallika Sherawat who makes a special appearance in Guru.
Mallika is fantastic. She is a fabulous co-star. We shot the song Mayaa Mayya in an abandoned church in Istanbul. She danced bare feet, practiced 8-10 hours every day but not once did she complain. She was always smiling and pleasant.

There is lot of speculation that Guru to be based on Dhirubai Ambani’s life. Since Anil Ambani is a family friend, did you ask him for his inputs?
That’s media speculation. There’s nothing like that. Guru is a work of fiction, like all other works of fiction; it is also inspired by reality. So it’s not just one particular person the film is based on. Many great people have inspired. The film covers the life of a Gurukant Desai. It was challenging to play the journey of a man that starts at age 15 and goes on till 70.

You had to put on weight to portray the character of Guru. How difficult is it to juggle when shooting another film about the same time and losing it all again?
I try and do one film at a time. We started Guru, shot it chronologically and finished it soon. Working on one film at a time helps take care of whatever problems we might face during production. I’m still trying to lose weight. I had put on 11 kilos for the character, as Mani wanted. I have learnt a lot from the film. I learned how to put on weight in two weeks and how to lose it one week. My character is iconic and he is not apologetic about what he is doing. My character taught me about the right attitude and philosophies of life.

Dhoom 2 is seen more as Hrithik Roshan’s film than yours.
I was given a role to do; I did what I was asked to do. They made the film they wanted to make. I keep saying that it’s not about being the best in the film, but being part of a good film you can be proud of. I don’t worry about being overshadowed. Besides Daggu is my childhood friend there is no hard feelings what so ever.

It’s heard that there was a disagreement between you and your childhood fried Goldie Behl apparently, Aadesh Shrivastav influenced a patch-up.
Goldie is one of my closets friends; he’s family for me. There were never any problems between us. When Goldie was ready to make a film, he narrated the script to me. I liked it. Drona has the potential to be a very exciting film.

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