Twenty five years is fabulous.
Oh yes, it’s amazing. You need guts, tenacity and, of course, love, which I’m quietly slipping in as my wife is hovering nearby and can hear me.

Do you miss selling potato chips?
Of course, I do. I still reminisce about the good old days before I became an actor but you’ve got to move on. I recall those days fondly as they are part of my journey. A lot of what I learnt during my potato chips days—especially with regards observing people—comes in handy in my acting assignments.

What about photography? You carry a camera with you on the sets all the time, don’t you?
I do carry my camera but one gets so involved in the character that one is essaying, that it feels like cheating if you suddenly start clicking pictures. For instance, I was in Hyderabad for one-and-a-half months shooting for Shyam Benegal’s Abba Ka Kua, in which I play a double role. I was so caught up that even though I had my camera all the time, I only took it out on the last day. But I do miss photography.

What about theatre?
Oh, I miss that all the time. This is not reminiscence but an actual, physical longing to be on the stage. I’m working on it. I know there will be a return soon.

You’ve played a zillion characters in films. Which one is your personal favourite?
By far it’s Lucky Singh of Lage Raho Munnabhai. Many people think Dr Asthana from Munnabhai MBBS should be my favourite since it was my breakout role. I’m quite attached to him but Lucky Singh tops my list. He is not close to my bone, out of my community, out of my city. For me to find affection for him and play him right, so that he comes across as slimy but not beyond-redemption-slimy, was a challenge. I also loved playing Kishan Khurana in Khosla Ka Ghosla. He had a dark side and it was delicious to enact him from the page to the screen. Imagine this guy owned a mansion with 10 rooms and he would go to the garden to pee. That showed his aukad.

... contd.