By Anand Vaishnav

In a two-part interview the chocolate boy talks of his love for action films

After reviving the teenage romance genre in his debut film, Imran Khan is now all set for some gravity defying action in his forthcoming film Luck. Perceived widely as the new chocolate boy in town, Imran on the contrary is inclined to edgier stuff. In the first segment of a two-part interview, Imran Khan tells Buzz18 about the films that excite him.

Luck is your third movie in about a year. Are you happy with the pace of releases?

Actually it's exactly a year since Jaane Tu released. Honestly I think I could have gone a little bit slower. I am way ahead of the other guys. Ranbir Kapoor and Neil Nitin Mukesh made their debuts before me but have had fewer releases. But then releases dates are something you have no control over.

You've seen both sides of the box office. Are you a little more prepared the third time around, or it's the same anxiety each time?

You are never relaxed. Every time it is as nerve wracking. Because honestly, you are only as good as your last film. You do need to prove yourself again and again here. I can't speak for others, but personally I am always concerned about whether we have done enough.

How did you react to the failure of Kidnap after a super hit like Jaane Tu? Was it like a reality check or you took it like a part of the game?

I had reality long before my first film. Anyone working in the industry knows that flops will outnumber hits. And you have to get used to that. So even before I began shooting for Jaane Tu I was prepared to face failure. So on a personal level Kidnap didn't affect me, as I know why it failed. Professionally it was definitely a set back. But then you can't argue with the fact that people didn't like the film.

How come you switched gears to action, in spite of making your debut in a love story?

I don't know. In fact I started shooting for Luck even before Jaane Tu released. I don't think films succeed or fail because of one's image. Taking Kidnap as an example, I didn't get flak for changing my image. In fact people were very kind to me.

I read somewhere that Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in your favourite film. So does the Jaane Tu hero prefer that genre of filmmaking?

The grammar of film is always evolving. But Lock Stock was like a huge spike for filmmaking. My film Delhi Belly is in the Lock Stock genre of film.

So beneath the chocolate boy that people perceive you as, there lies a rough and tough action hero…

Oh, I am very comfortable with action. I have always been a very physical person with a thing for outdoors. So I took to the stunts quite easily and enjoyed them a lot. I think guys have a tendency to like action. I mean you would rather watch Transformers than a Proposal. So when you read a cool action script there is a tendency to jump at it.

But the stunts didn't freak you out?

It starts freaking you out later. But while reading... stuff like space jumps, sky diving, running on top of a train and blowing up cars sounds very cool.

Luck has huge supporting cast. Even Kidnap and Jaane Tu had an impressive ensemble. Has their presence been an advantage, or it makes no difference as long as you are secure about your role?

It's a bit of both. You have to have faith in yourself and your role. You have to be confident and like your role. But the presence of talented actors always makes you look good. You see, all actors have a narcissistic tendency to dominate and make everyone around them look bad. They don't realise that it works against them. The converse is true. If the actors around you look good, you automatically will also come out looking better than you are.

It seems you recommended Shruti Haasan's name for Luck. How do you both know each other?

Our families have been friends since we were kids. I did recommend her name. Soham wanted a new girl for Luck. And having gone through the grind of looking for a new face in Jaane Tu, I knew it's not easy. Somewhere along I always felt the character sounded a lot like Shruti. The girl in the film has a dark past, far from the regular, bubbly Hindi film heroine. She's got an edge to her. The real Shruti is also totally into her rock music. Shruti's got vibe we needed for the film. I had to check with her and when she sounded interested we had the auditions.

So let's put you on the spot… Genelia, Minissha Lamba or Shruti Haasan?

I work best with Genelia. My screen relationship with Shruti and Minissha was very different. So I feel I had great chemistry with Genelia