The rest of the reports are all speculation — that he is doing a film with Ranbir Kapoor directed by Tarun Mansukhani, that he is working with Deepa Mehta, blah-blah. “Most of these announcements are made in the media factory and denied by them. I read the paper each morning to find out what is next,’’ he says.

One of Bollywood’s big hopes currently, Imran explains, “Tarun and I gravitate towards one another at parties because we’re both slightly shy. However, after that election video that we did, he hasn’t even called me. He hasn’t spoken about doing any film with Ranbir and me.’’ As for Deepa’s Midnight’s Children, once again the actor says, “Only the media called me about this film, Deepa didn’t.’’

Imran believes that the entire hype around superstardom is very surreal. “I’m reluctant to buy the hype,’’ says the 20-something actor. “I still go to my old eating joints, I don’t wear designer stuff — so many of my friends are better dressed than I am. And I keep a low profile.’’ Also — he is uncomfortable romancing his heroines.

“I’m uncomfortable romancing any girl other than my girlfriend Avantika,’’ he clarifies. As an actor even if he is required to light up the screen with a bevy of beauties, his personal stance still remains that “it’s only my girl and no one else for me.” 

You did a photo-shoot with Sonam for a magazine recently. What were your thoughts?
Isn’t she taller than me? But 20 minutes into the shoot, everything fell into the place.

Sonam had said that Imran is the only actor whom one can have a conversation with. True?
It is not much of a conversation, it is more of a monologue; and I’m a very good listener.

Have you also been approached for Karan Johar’s Dostana 2 ?
No mention of Dostana 2 has come up at all; no one has approached me unless you count the offer Karan gave us at the award function. It is on record. I should hold Karan on that.

We have heard you did a dangerous stunt for Luck sometime back.
I have done a lot of stunts - a few for films and few in real life. Which one are you talking about?

The stunt you did for your next release, Luck.
I’m not talking about Luck yet. It is too early to talk about it. Once we start the film’s publicity, I will tell you about all the stunts I have done.

Moving on, you have made a fashion statement with your ties. You seem fascinated with ties.
I like ties. I collect ties. I have a very big collection of ties — old ties, new ties. It is one fashion object that I like.

Who according to you is a trendsetter in Bollywood?
It has to be John Abraham. I remember during Dhoom, he had long hair and after the film, I saw almost everyone with long hair.