This is also the first time you have come on as producer. How was that experience?
It was great fun. My training is in production. Before I became an actor, I was a production assistant. But would I trade it in for acting? Never. Acting is much more fun.
Your next film is with Mani Ratnam, and a lot has been written about it in the media. Do you get bothered when the media calls it a jinxed film?
Yes, I get very, very upset. This is complete fabrication and irresponsible journalism. You cannot pass judgement, and label a film when you don't know anything about it. It's very upsetting for the team. We work very hard to make films, and we put our life and soul into it. I have worked very hard on Ravan and it has been the toughest film I have ever made. The film was made on schedule and it's about to release. You have no right to do that to a team that has worked on the film. You have to have some respect for someone who has achieved what he has achieved. I think it is disgusting.
You have been cast in three consecutive films by Mani Ratnam, one of the best filmmakers we have. Does that give you a boost?
Mani first took me on in Yuva at a very important stage in my career. He bestowed confidence in me. He signed me on at a time when I was questioning whether I should be an actor at all or not. Then to come back and give me a role like Gurukant Desai and then to come and give me Ravan, it meant a lot. Mani is family to me. It's very tough for me to be objective about him. I do think he is the best we have. He has been a godsend for me.
Why did you question yourself? You seem to be someone who is very confident of himself.
For the very same reason, I think. You know that you are putting in your best and it fails. It is disheartening. You know that you gave it your best and the realisation that your best isn't good enough, through seventeen films that haven't worked. One film will shake you up; seventeen will destroy you. The first few, you are nonchalant about. Then you say to yourself, ''oh, people don't know what they are talking about.'' Then you become cynical about the whole thing. But after a while, when you open the paper every Friday and read your review and people tell you how terrible you are, you start believing that. And it is me against a billion people. That works on your subconscious. I remember telling my dad that I wasn't cut out to be an actor. That is why, when people liked Yuva, I felt that I had it in me. I just had to keep at it."
You recently joined the ranks of the twitterati. How does it feel being on Twitter?
Oh, I love Twitter. I think it is fantastic. I am completely hooked. The greatest thing is that I finally have a way to interact with my audiences on a one-to-one basis. It isn't one-way. I enjoy that interaction. I think it makes me a better person and a better actor. In the past, if I wanted to thank my fans, I would have to do it through some other medium. But now I have my own soapbox, so to speak. I love it.
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