Puru himself is an abstract artist, that is, when he's not busy shooting for films. He loves Delhi-based Jatin Das, though he's not so taken in with M. F. Husain's recent works (``I liked the stuff he did in the 60s,'' he explains). But legendary actor Raaj Kumar's son wasn't in town just for a bit of the sun: he had business to attend to, including a series of stage-shows, some in Chandigarh and one in DLF. ``DLF was a great experience,'' he says, and gets up to show some of the steps from the show, right there, in a middle of the courtyard, much to the waiter's surprise.

Puru then tries to explain a sequence which starts with him sitting with his back to the audience. ``All the Haryanvis were like `Peeth kar ke kyon baitha se (Why's he sitting with his back to us?'' he laughs, amused with the comments delivered in local dialect. He's not been in the news lately, with his debut film, Bal Brahamachari, having bombed two years ago. His father died shortly before it hit the cinema halls, and the two blows seem to have hit him hard. ``It was emotionally a very bad time for me. I could not have lost my father at a worse time of my career,'' he recalls. ``Not that I'm looking for sympathy, thank you very much,'' he adds quickly. ``But I feel that I should be given the chance to fail or succeed. I am bound to make a couple of mistakes.''

He's got Desh coming up next, with Mamta Kulkarni (who, like Puru, plays a cop in the film), Katle Am, where he gets to star opposite Tara Deshpande (``I'm really looking forward to that,'' he says) and Inth Ka Jawab Pathar. And there are some lessons learnt from the Bal Brahamachari debacle. ``I have realised that a big banner doesn't mean that things will be professionally managed. Prakash Mehra's productions, I realised, are a house of confusions.'' The other thing he has learnt is the importance of ``patience''. Things will come in their own time. Every dog has his day. That kind of thing. ``I have a lot to learn and a long way to go, though I haven't a clue who will teach me,'' says Puru, not without a touch of the humility that comes with a fair amount of struggle.

The struggle hasn't cost him his love for ``Hindi films'' (``I detest the term `Bollywood' and `filmi'. They reek with pre-conceived notions,'' he insists), or his passion for acting. ``It is a very noble profession, provided you are fortunate enough to be happy in it,'' he says. There is only one regret: ``I can't go and watch myself on screen as part of an objective audience,'' he says philosophically, his eyes on the setting sun.

``That would have been nice, wouldn't it?''

Sure, but that is a small price to pay on the altar of stardom.