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I didn’t fancy myself as an actor till I was plumb in the middle of it all. When Pritish Nandy offered me a role in
a movie project, I was a little nonplussed. Although the project was shelved, it opened up a new door for me. I spent a lot
of time watching movies and studying great actors to try and build a screen persona of my very own.
In September 2002, I received a call from Mahesh Bhatt telling me that his daughter would like to make a movie with me. I
was quite overwhelmed, since this was a starring role in a project that would be all my very own.
The movie, Jism, was released on Jan 17th 2003. It immediately pushed me into the public eye. After that, I acted in a number
of projects that helped me polish the little pebbles that I now recognize as diamonds today.
Dhoom was the most fun I’ve had with my pants on. Mostly because I got to ride around on the Suzuki Hayabusa, reputed
at that time, to be the fastest motorcycle in the world. I was hardly acting there. The thrill was all very, very real.
By the time Viruddh came along, I was delving deeply into my abilities to find different things I could do and with the help
of some outstanding directors, managed to create a variety of niches where I did my best work.
My next movie, Water opened at the Toronto Film Festival, a humbling event as any I have ever seen. There were many rounds
of applause for me and the rest of the cast at the event, and I began to see the beginnings of a wider audience for Indian
films. (I refuse the term ‘Bollywood’. I find it terribly subservient.)
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