One can see slightly lost look in his eyes, as they say, lonely at the top. To which the actor crinkles his eyes and says, “Lonely, no. I don’t look at life that way. I’m certainly not lonely, which might mean that I’m certainly not on the top. I’m very fortunate with the kind of relationships I have made with the people I have worked with. Today I feel more connected to my audience than ever before. So actually I’m neither alone nor am I lonely.”

Aamir was the first actor to set the trend of doing one film at a time and now most actors are following it “People used to laugh at me and used to say 'yeh industry se gayaab ho jayega'. But, I am glad that more and more actors are following it, as that's how films should be made. I feel that the main cast and crew should do so too as that's how you make better films.”

With 3 Idiots smashing all box-office records and is being compared to Sholay does he thinks that the debate over which Khan rules is finally laid to rest “(Laughs). There was never any war of supremacy so there is no question of starting or stopping any debate. I am not competing with him (Shah Rukh Khan). I never raised those questions so the answers do not interest me. For me the people who rule the industry are Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar as I idolise them as an audience. I love Shammi (Kapoor) uncle too as it's a different style and I also love Nargisji (Dutt) and Waheedaji (Rehman).”

As ‘3 Idiots’ continues to grip the audiences worldwide even now, Aamir is taking a break from acting. He laughs and says, “Yes, that’s correct. Each one of us is insecure about something or the other. I don't want to take any step just because I am insecure. In that sense I have the courage to do unusual stuff. At this point of time there is Peepli Live, Dhobi Ghat where I am also acting and Delhi Belly. My focus right now is Peepli Live as it is releasing first. I think you should just follow your heart. I want to take some time off for my wife, kids and myself. After a couple of months, I would start reading scripts to figure out what I would do next. Because I really don’t know what I’m going to do next; whether I would direct or act,” he states.

Aamir prefers to let his work speak for itself but rumours about his upcoming projects take up pages and pages of newsprint. Aamir quashes the reports of his involvement in various projects, including Kaun Banega Crorepati 4 (KBC 4), Mani Ratnam’s Lajjo, and Anurag Kashyap and Danny Boyle’s Bombay trilogy. “Yes, I was offered KBC 4, but I’m not doing it,” Khan reveals.

No TV for now Khan, who is perhaps the only A-list Bollywood actor yet to make his television debut as a host, says he is not averse to television, but doesn’t have the time for it at the moment. “I think TV is an extremely powerful medium and can be used really well to entertain or to engage,” he says. “But at this point of time, I don’t have the bandwidth for it.”

The actor has also been linked to Mani Ratnam’s revived project, Lajjo, where he is reportedly being paired on screen with his 3 Idiots’ co-star, Kareena Kapoor. He smiles, saying, “I was unaware of Lajjo being revived, until I read about it in the newspaper. It was news to me too! Because where I am concerned, talks about Lajjo were over more than two years ago.”

But the actor does admit that he met Danny Boyle and Anurag Kashyap regarding their Bombay trilogy. “I met Danny just as a friend,” he says. “He told me about the project and I told him I’ll be happy to read the script when it’s ready. I’m not committed to Bombay Velvet any more or any less than any other project at this moment. My next film depends on the projects that come my way, and which excite me when I’m ready to sign films.” When asked if he is being unfair to directors by not signing films for a year, he laughs, “What about the poor directors who’ve made three films for me?

Dhobi Ghaat
Directed by: Kiran Rao Starring: Prateik Babbar, Aamir Khan and Dan Husain Release date: End of 2010.
Like most of Khan’s projects, a veil of secrecy hides the story of Dhobi Ghaat safely. It is only known that the film has four lead roles, and Khan plays one of them, while Prateik Babbar plays the other.

Delhi Belly
Directed by: Abhinay Deol Starring: Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapoor Release date: January 2011. Delhi Belly is reportedly an urban comedy, set in Delhi.