• Tougher than your Mom? Your Dad wasn’t tough, I know. He just looked tough.

No, no, she was tough. Going through three operations in the head, chemotherapy, and yet with a smile on her face. That was the amazing part.

• And you had a baby?

And I had a baby. And unbelievable! Right till the end, when she passed away also, she (my wife) had that glow!

• Not many people we know who have been in the public domain have been through such rough times. And who have been through such bad times as you.

I think I’m the chosen one. I think God puts you through tests like this and sees how you come out of it. I feel it is my destiny to go through it and I have to face it.

n You are a great advertisement for God and destiny, because you get the best and you get the worst. Sometimes in quick succession. How does a growing man handle it?

I believe in destiny.

• Your life has been like the Indian cricket team!

You don’t have to say that . . . not right now (laughs)!

• So how does one handle these roller-coaster rides?

I think you should just take it in your stride, just learn, instead of brooding over it.

• But you do brood.

Sometimes.

• You have brooding eyes, I know.

... contd.