Women from Dubai messaged me saying that they loved my tattooed chest!

By Bollywood Hungama -

January 1, 2009 - 12:00 AM IST

He is the hunkiest of them all
While she's gawky turned gorgeous

She finds him a great co-star while John thinks she is fun to be around. John Abraham & Esha Deol play husband wife in Soham Shah's thriller tease this summer. In a quickfire round, we get the Dhoom duo to spill Kaal capers

First the Chopras, now the Johars, does excellence have 2 different tastes?
They are very similar yet very different. I did Dhoom last year with the Chopras & here I am with Kaal. Both the houses are extremely efficient & are a pro at promoting their films. I haven't seen any other filmmaker market their films as well as they do.

I was struggling to match steps in Tauba Tauba

You are refreshingly sensitive about animals. Did you empathize with Kaal?
Yes I did, but why just me, the whole cast of Kaal was extremely sensitive about animals. I think Soham has done a damn good job of interweaving the tiger conservation message into the film.

Tell us about your character?
I play a National Geographic explorer, Krish who is on a mission to find out the strange happenings at the Jim Corbett Park. His wife accompanies him. What happens towards the tail end of the film is going to blow you away!

Any reference that you used to build your character
Not really, I just behaved like a good student and translated whatever my director explained me. He told me what to say and how to say it, and I on my part simply followed his instructions. That made life easier for both.

Not many know, but Soham is a professional bodybuilder!'

How was it to team again with your Dhoom co-star, Esha?
She plays my wife in the film and is a Nat Geo photographer. I share a certain comfort zone with her. So, it's fun to work together.

Your look in Kaal is distinctive. How would you describe it?
Not too sure how I would describe it but I did grow my hair for part. Since we are Nat Geo explorers, I had to adhere to what the profession calls for. Manish styled the costumes for us. From my limited knowledge about clothes, there are a lot of bottle greens, black, browns & beiges that have been used.

You are not a big fan of the song-n-dance grind. Are you?
(Cringes his nose) You heard it right. I am not.

So how did you manage Tauba Tauba?
Oh, I was almost struggling to keep pace with the beats. Since the track is so good, my only concern was that I don't look like a shame, but thankfully Farah took care of that. Have to confess the dance bit doesn't come that easy. I think Vivek manages it a lot better.

Women loved your tattooed chest though
(Smiles) Yes, I did receive a lot of compliments about that one. Women from Dubai messaged me saying that they loved the way 'Ishq' is written on my chest. That was sweet.

Before signing off; tell us one best kept secret about Soham
Hey, I am not going to do that! He won't trust me with his secrets ever. Soham is a nice Gujarati boy who can get pretty mischievous. Okay, I can't resist this one, let me leak out this one, few people know that he is a professional bodybuilder!

That mild guy is a professional bodybuilder?
(Laughs) Yes! He played the coveted role of Balram in the serial Sri Krishna some moons ago.

We are rolling in laughter

Dharamji's dahling daughter is on next

Women from Dubai messaged me saying that they loved my tattooed chest!
I am not your 2 minute noodle; I am here for the long race!

An image summersault in Dhoom, what is the Esha that we get in Kaal?
I play Riya, a Nat Geo photographer. We were in the outdoors for a major chunk of time. The clothes are earth tones. I am normally used to tons of makeup, and here I was with just the bare minimum. Many a times, I used to be using the same clothes to maintain continuity. It was so life-like. And most importantly, I am not blonde in Kaal!

Last year the Chopras now the Johars. You are slowly getting there
Well, I guess if people like what they see of me, they are going to approach me. And I am only too glad that it's finally happening. At the end of the day, I am a product, and I am here to sell myself well.

We spooked the life out of the guys!

But earlier, there was certain lethargy in you as an actor which audiences were not too kind to
I agree, I have learnt it the hard way and now I am putting in the hardwork that needs to get me to the top bracket. But I am in no hurry, the rat race may be fierce but I am not your two-minute noodle, I am here for the long run.

You club with John for the second time, what was it like to work with the hunk?
Great! We get along very well.

Did the dude get around to bullying you?
You think he would dare?

What about you, any bullying from ma'am's side?
Me? No, I don't bully people. They simply do things for me! On a serious note, I just do my work & expect the same from my co-star.

Camped together for almost three months in jungles, who was the mischief-maker amongst you?
We girls! Lara and I spooked these two guys, Vishal & Bagga who are a part of the cast.

What did you devils get to doing?
One night they were done with dinner & the two went to their room. We then quietly sneaked out, stood in front of their rooms, banged real hard on their door & hid! The two came out with a stricken face and were sitting all night in the corridor, looking for anything spooky! I remember, they were all sweaty and shivering. Oh god! We freaked the life out of them! And the two fattus still have no idea who the culprits are!

"At the end of the day, I am a product, and I am here to sell myself well"

Let's talk about your director, Soham
He knows his job! And more importantly he knows what he's going to give people as the final product. I think that will take him a long way.

A first for you in Kaal
Shooting with real tigers!