On playing a car racer: "First of all, it's extremely tough sitting in the car; there are no doors and once you are locked inside, it's extremely hot. It was hard for me to breathe in there. Luckily, there was a driver in the car next to me. I looked at him and told him I was getting suffocated. You've got to want to do this, he told me. You've got to have the passion and the drive. It might sound a bit filmi but that's when I realised I wanted to do it; I stopped feeling claustrophobic. I've never driven that fast ever — it's almost crushing. It's also quite an intense experience. There was no training involved but it was a lot of fun."

Most memorable moment: "The hotel that I was checked in was on the highway, opposite a cemetery and bang in the middle of nowhere. The rooms had no windows. After shooting in that kind of claustrophobic heat, I just couldn't handle the rooms. So I got them to make me a window — it was quite sweet of them to oblige. I had to go to Kmart, the only shop down the road, buy a window and install it. Now they call that room the "presidential suite" because it's got a window."

Playing dad on screen: "They say it can be quite scary working with children but the kids in our set-up were more professional then most actors I have worked with. They got it right on the first take and were very committed. I wanted to bunk shooting because I had fever but there was this kid, Ali, who was also ill, but he shot through the day. I was waiting for him to go home so that I could leave. In the end, Siddharth (Anand, the director) told me to go home while Ali kept working. That was a lesson for me."

Rani Mukherji: "I agree I have great screen chemistry with Rani. I was watching Hum Tum the other day and I think it's a magical movie in parts. She's a phenomenal actor and she brings something really special to the screen for which I respect her a lot.

It is good to work with her because I want to be better than her. I guess that makes it a healthy working relationship."

On director Siddharth Anand: "It's wonderful when you have someone who's so clear in his mind about what he wants. Like Shah Rukh (Khan) once said, "Sometimes you just know what the director is like and what kind of films he makes and you just say Ok and go with his conviction." The only filmmaker who gives me that confidence is Siddharth. I would say to him that I'd do your next movie, whatever it is. With others, I would want to hear what it's about. He has really come of age in this film."

Salaam Namaste versus Ta Ra Rum Pum: "I can play the Salaam Namaste part because the character is very much like me. But to play a car racer is another challenge. It's larger than life, a her's role. The guy in Salaam Namaste is a hero for different reasons - he overcomes his own fears and that's what a hero does. You can't say one is bigger than the other. To get over your fear of commitment and say you will marry a woman, to me, is bigger, than getting over your fear of fast cars. They are just different metaphors for conquering your fear."

~Text Courtesy of Express India~