"It
Was
A
Magical
Feeling
To
Know
People
Can
Understand
What
I
Am
Feeling,
Which
Never
Happened
In
The
First
19
Years
Of
My
Life"
Q.
You
were
a
student
of
DCE
which
is
considered
to
be
a
safe
career
for
a
student.
From
there
you
ventured
into
an
unknown
territory
and
took
baby
steps
by
doing
TV
and
then
eventually
moving
towards
films.
How
has
the
journey
been
from
your
perspective?
A.
"I
was
a
very
good
student.
I
was
offered
a
scholarship
in
Delhi
College
of
Engineering
and
was
getting
offers
from
many international
universities
to
come
and
study
there.
But
it
doesn't
guarantee
you
anything.
You
have
to
slog.
But
yes,
it
does
guarantee
you
a
certain amount
of
money
per
annum.
But
everytime
I used
to
work
for
that
kind
of
money,
I never
liked it.
But
during
my
first
semester
when
I
started
dancing
with
Shiamak
Davar,
I
used
to
like
it;
even
though
no
one
could
see
me,
because
I
was
right
at
the
back. Shaimak
asked
me
to
venture
into
theatre,
and
for
the
first
time,
I
could
see
people
getting
affected
by
my
performance
when
I
said
my
lines,
and
I
felt
powerful.
It
was
a
magical
feeling
to
know
people
can
understand
what
I
am
feeling,
which
never
happened
in
the
first
19
years
of
my
life.
That magical
feeling
has
remained
the
same
from
2006
till
now.
Absolutely
nothing
has
changed."
"Saying
No
To
A
Film
Which
Had
Chances
Of
Being
Successful
And
Earning
Me
A
Huge
Pay
Cheque,
For
A
Play
Just
Tells
Me
Something
About
Myself
Q.
What
is
the
first
aspect
that
you
consider
before
giving
your
nod
to
a
film?
A.
Primarily
the
story
attracts
me
to
a
film.
Secondly,
there
should
be
something
which
I
should
not
be
able
to
understand.
And
hence
to
understand
that,
I
do
the
film.
If
I
know
what
how
to
do
it,
I
will
never
do
it
no
matter
how
commercially
viable
the
film
is.
Post
the
release
of
'M.S
Dhoni:
The
Untold
Story',
for
some
reason,
the
film
which
I
was
supposed
to
shoot
right after
(Takadum)
failed
to
take
off
and
I
suddenly
had
three
to
four
months
gap
in
between.
During
that
period,
many
filmmakers
including
the
ones
I
really
wanted
to
work
with,
approached
me
for
their
films.
But
somehow
those
scripts
had
that
missing-
'I
know
I
could
do
it'.
I
refused
to
do
those
films
and
instead
started
preparing
for
a
play.
I
could
have
done
any
of
those
films.
Probably
there
could
have
been
about
50%
chances
of
them
being
successful
but
I
would
definitely
be
getting
a
huge
pay
check
for
it
knowing
that
my
last
film
did
well.
Saying
no
to
that
for
a
play
just
tells
me
something
about
myself.
That
I
need
those
three-four
months
of
excitement
of
not
knowing
how
to
do
things.
This
is
one
thing
which
I
definitely
want
in
a
script
for
me
to
say
yes
to
it.
"I
Am
Not
Future-Obsessed"
Q.
Has
the
success
of
last
film
changed
or
affected
you
as
a
person?
A.
"My
stardom
is
new
for
people
who
didn't
consider
me
a
star
earlier,
but
for
me,
nothing
has
changed.
I
have
played
54
characters
till
now,
and
every
film
is
different.
I
worked
extremely
hard
for
Byomkesh
Bakshi.
The
film
released
on
Friday
and
didn't
open
well.
I
was
miserable
on
Saturday
and
Sunday.
But
on
Monday,
I
was
completely
okay.
In
case
of
Dhoni,
the
film
had
a
massive
weekend,
and
ideally
I
should
have
been
flipping
with
joy.
But,
I
was
completely
in
control
then
too.
I
cannot
let
these
2
-
3
days
of
spiking
and
dropping
affect
my
7
-
8
months
of
my
life,
which
I
have
invested
in
a
film. I
am
just
not future
obsessed.
As
far
as
stardom
is
concerned;
the
day
I
dropped
out
of
college
in
my
third
year and
started
dancing
behind
Aishwarya
Rai
and
Shahid
Kapoor,
I
became
a
star.
Because
at
that
time
I
was
doing
something
I
really
wanted
to
do."
"If
People
Are
Investing
So
Much
Time
In
Writing
Fiction
Stories
About
Me,
They
Should
At
Least
Make
Them
Interesting
Enough"
Q.
How
do
you
react
to
the
stories
which
lately
has
been
doing
the
rounds
regarding
your
personal
life?
A.
"If
I
read
these
rumours
and
take
them
seriously
then
it
would
affect
me.
However
I
do
read
them
at
times
and
it
gets
to
me.
Recently
there
have
been
stories
that
are
so
new
to
me
that
I
am
also
reading
them
for
the
first
time.
(laughs)
I
have
no
problems
with
these
stories
because
I
can
understand
that
living
in
this
digital
age
where
there
are
ten
trending
topics
every
hour,
we
need
a
talking
point.
I
have
no
problems
against
these
'amazingly
frivolous' stories
coming
out
about
me.
I
am
just
saying
that
if
these
people
are
investing
so
much
time
in
writing
fiction
stories
about
me,
lets
have
this
symbiotic
relationship,
make
them
interesting!
So
when
I
read
them
I
feel
that
'Oh
I
am
so
spicy'
(laughs).
But
all
I
am
getting
to
read
are
the
same
boring,
repetitive
stories.
Q.
Your
recent
spat
with
a
senior
journalist
at
the
trailer
launch
of
Raabta
grabbed
a
lot
of
eyeballs.
Do
you
feel
that
being
a
star
there
is
a
flip
side
to
freedom
of
speech
as
well?
A.
A
journalist
was
asking me my
opinion
on
something.
I
was
saying,
"Excuse
me,
I
don't
have
an
opinion
because
I
am
not
well-informed."
I
could
have
gone
with
the
popular
opinion
as
I
knew
what
was
happening
with
him.
I
could
have
boasted
that
I
am
a
patriotic.
It
was
very
easy
for
me
to
do
that.
Instead
I
chose
to
be
extremely
honest
about
not
being
well-informed."
By
having
said
that
I
will
get
facts
correct
and
the
next
time
when
I
meet
that
person,
I
would
have
told
her
my
opinion.
So,
the
next
time
when I
give
you
my
opinion,
you
would
respect
it
thinking
that
he
knows
about
his
facts
and
that's
why
he
has
an
opinion.
So
I
just
said
that.
No
matter
how
big
you
think
the
fight
was,
anybody
who
saw
that
would
have
easily
found
out
how
rational
who
was.
"I
Know
The
Importance
Of
Looking
At
A
Fan
For
An
Extra
One
Second
Or
Waving
At
Them
Or
Writing
Something
For
Them"
Q.
Recently
it
was
alleged
that
you misbehaved
with
a
fan
who
had
tried
to
ask you
for
a
picture...
A.
I
am
a
big
fan
of
Shahrukh
Khan
and
he
is
the
only
actor
whose
autograph
I
wanted.
I
came
to Mumbai
and
visited
the
sets
of
Swades
just
for
his
autograph.
But
for
some
reason,
I
couldn't
meet
him
and
felt
very
bad
about
it.
And
then
few
years
later,
when
I
was
a
background
dancer,
I
was
dancing
behind
him
in
one
of
the
award
functions;
and
he
just
turned,
and
I
said
hi,
and
he
said
hi
too.
Now
he
probably
says
hi
to
10,000
people
in
a
day,
but
it
was
such
a
big
thing
for
me,
that
I
am
telling
you
this
story
10
years
down
the
line.
So,
I
know
the
importance
of
looking
at
a
fan
for
an
extra
one
second,
or
waving
at
them
or
writing
something
for
them.
I
make
sure
that
I
do
this so
that
they
have
something
to
talk
about.
I
do
not
stop
and
click
pictures
with
all
the
fans
who
ask
me
to,
no,
but
that is
because
I
am
very
particular
about
my
work
commitments.
If
I
am
going
somewhere
and
getting
late,
and
a
person
asks
me
to
stop
and
click
a
picture,
I
won't
even
probably
listen
because
I
am
thinking
about
something.
So,
that
is
one
of
the
few
instances
when
I
will
not
stop
and
meet
a
fan,
otherwise,
98%
of
my
waking
time,
if
someone
asks
me
for
a
picture,
I
let
them."
If
You
Google
DCE's
Most
Successful
Alumni
Now,
My
Name
Tops
The
List
And
It
Also
Says
That
I
Am
A
College
Drop-Out"
Q.
What
advice
would
you
like
to
give
to
people
who
are
hesitant
to
pursue
their
dreams?
A.
When
I
dropped
out
of
my
college,
everybody
was
laughing
at
me.
Imagine
being
in
a
top
notch
college,
8
months
away
from
graduation,
and
dropping
out
to
become
a
hero! It
sounds
very
funny.
But
ironically,
if
you
Google
Delhi
College Of
Engineering's most
successful
alumni
now,
the
name
of
the
guy
who
invented
the
Pentium
chip
is
second
in
the
list.
My
name
tops
the
list,
and
in
also
says
that
I
am
a
drop
out.
So
the
most
important
thing
is
not
to
arrive
at
some
place
where
you
would tell
yourself
that
I
made
the
right
decision.
Instead
the
he
most
important
thing
is
to
make
the
right
decision
at
the
right
time,
and
do
what
you
really
want
to
do.
All
the
things
that
we
are
taught
in
business
schools
about
perseverance
and
luck
and
risk
taking,
all
these
things
are
by
products.
We
don't
have
to
work
on
any
of
these
things,
you
just
have
to
identify
and do
something
that
you
like
to
do.
And since
you
like
it
so
much,
even
if
it
take
multiple
attempts,
you
will
become
very
good
at
it.
Belief
also
goes
a
long
way.
Most
of
the
people
who
don't
make
it
have
some
sort
of
disbelief.