Congratulations for Dum Maaro Dum. Were you nervous about starring in such an intense film?

No! I think the whole setup was very relaxing because Rohan Sippy is a very chilled out director, he knows what he wants, the story boards were ready, there was a lot of planning that went into making the film before we even went on set, so everyone knew exactly what they were going to do and clear with their characters.

What drew you to the film?

It is a very new aged film. There are three stories, which are interlinked, in this one particular film. Most of my work happens with Rana Daggubati who is making a debut in the Hindi film industry and I think he has done amazing work and people will really like him, and we look great on screen together. So I think it’s a step ahead in films because we are not playing the hero and heroine, we are playing characters and that rarely happens in the Hindi film industry. So I guess that’s the reason why I wanted to be a part of this film.

This film hits upon drugs, scandals and sex. What kind of challenges did you face?

It’s a tricky film, the biggest challenge I had to face was to smoke a cigarette for one of the scenes and I’m a total anti smoker, I have never smoked in my life! I have been very responsible towards myself from an very early age. I never felt the need to ever hold a cigarette, and many times in Bollywood, many directors have tried to ask me to smoke in the film but I have always turned it down, but the film was dealing with drugs and nicotine. So the director wanted me to roll a cigarette for one of the scenes and I had to smoke. I spent one full day in Goa trying to learn it and I was so pathetic, so I did smoke my first cigarette thanks to Rohan Sippy.

Did you have reservations for certain scenes?

I would have reservations on total nudity and definitely smoking. Madhur the director wanted me to smoke in corporate and I actually changed the character around completely and I became the one who stopped men from smoking. But as an actor I guess the lessons and decisions you have are better for you.