No doubt Imran Khan was the discovery of 2008. And if after the experience of tasting the most delicious adulation on this side of Hrithik Roshan he still continues to keep his head firmly on his shoulder, then you’ve to hand it this sensible superstar.
Imran has been shooting around the clock for Aamir Khan‘s Delhi Belly directed by Abhinay Deo. There’s patchwork 
shooting to be done for Soham Shah’s Luck, Imran’s only other film on hand.
And for this, he needs to regain the weight he lost for uncle Aamir Khan’s Delhi Belly. Says the affable young Jaane Tu… star, “For Kidnap I beefed up a lot. Did weights and worked out rigorously. Then for Delhi Belly I needed to get lean. Now I’ll have to get bulky again for the remaining portion of Luck, which got stalled because of a railway strike in Namibia. I’ll have to put on weight. I’ll have to hit the gym very hard. I stopped going to the gym and cut down on my food intake drastically for Delhi Belly.”
Imran finds going to the gym very boring. “I’d rather exercise by living healthy and doing outdoor sports. I like offbeat extreme sports like scuba diving and roller skates. I wouldn’t say I hate the gym. That’s too extreme. But I find it boring. I also find being written about constantly very boring. You know stuff like, ‘I saw this pair of shoes in Paris and I simply had to buy them.’ I cringe when I see such stuff written. I’d rather talk when I’ve something to talk about.
“It’s been a decisive year for Imran. “And now for Delhi Belly I’ve been working like a dog. It was quite an unsettling experience. On an average I had fifteen new experiences every day. I can’t complain about it. But it became too much to handle. I didn’t have the time or energy to think over my experiences every day. I was putting in twenty hours a day and all I could do at the end of day was crash.”
Imran describes Delhi Belly as a labor of love. “It’s back to the Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane feeling. We’re all working as a team. We’re all a pair of hands on the sets. When I shot for Kidnap and Luck I was treated like a star. I was called ‘Mr. Khan’. I had my own van, and all the trappings. People started treating me differently. And I was very uncomfortable with that. If you ask me I’m much comfortable working as part of a team in Jaane Tu. And Delhi Belly. See, the making of a film is essentially a team thing. The more of it the better.”
Imran startles you by saying he travels to Delhi by economy class for Delhi Belly. “I don’t want to be treated differently. I don’t even have to insist on traveling economy. It just happens. It’s an Aamir Khan production. It’s like a home production. This is how it’s done here.”
And then comes the second surprise. Imran has worked in Delhi Belly free of fee. “Yeah I haven’t taken money for Delhi Belly. How can I take money from Aamir after all that he has done for me? He did far more for Jaane Tu …Jaane Na and me than any producer could. No, I can’t charge him.
Besides, Delhi Belly is a niche English-language film. The budget is limited. Will I charge him for my next film with him? It’ll depend on what it is. Right now Aamir is really preoccupied, with Kiran’s film happening and all.”
Imran was never offered Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat. “I wasn’t even considered. I don’t even know the story.”
Unblinkingly forthright Imran admits his second release Kidnap was a disappointment. “I had a blast doing Kidnap. But strangely the people around me were a lot more affected by its failure than me. From the day I became an actor I prepared for my career to be a rollercoaster ride. You can’t count on successes all the time. Anyone who has spent a long time in this business better comes to terms with the vagaries of the box-office. One day you’re up there. The next day…POW You can’t take failures to heart.”
Imran Khan looks back with much warmth. “Look at the heroes who came before me. Hrithik Roshan went through some major debacles after his first success. And look at where he’s today. It happened to Aamir, Shahid, and Salman…. All of them. I’m prepared to go through the grind. I’ve taken the failure of Kidnap in my stride. It took a good opening and began dropping from Sunday…you know I can’t be consumed by the thought of success and failure. I just do my own work I love coming on the sets every day. All the fringe happenings are secondary.”
To Imran stardom is still a process he’s discovering. “What I like about stardom is the great service I get at restaurants. I don’t need table reservations. That’s what I like the best. I don’t attend events and parties. I don’t know what to do at them. My only regular’s outings are films. After making films the only thing I really like doing is seeing them, preferably with my girlfriend Avantika.”
So far Imran has signed nothing after Delhi Belly. “My primary criteria are the script. The money comes much later. In any case those outrageous multi-film deals between corporate houses and actors are over. At this point I haven’t signed anything because nothing excites me. I finish Delhi Belly, and then complete Luck. That remains unfinished because there was some problem with Sanju Baba’s death. Then we were supposed to shoot the climax in Namibia when transport-workers’ strike happened. We waited in Namibia for it to be over. Now we’ll go back to Namibia to finish it in February.”
After Luck Imran would be happy to wait it out for the next project. “I’d love to do a rom-com. I’m being offered hardcore action films. They’re very tiring to do. If nothing interesting comes up I’d be happy to take a holiday. Marriage? No plans yet. Avantika and I have been together for over six years. We’re very clear about our relationship. But neither of us discusses marriage. We’re happy being together.”
Imran’s thoughts on 2009?
“2008 was the most exciting year of my life. I look back and say, ‘Wow’ In six months after Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na so much has changed. I feel I’ve grown up by a couple of years. As for Abbas Tyrewala’s next I don’t even know what the story is. I don’t have to be in everything he makes. But we’re still in touch. I was in his house just the other day chilling. In fact the Jaane Tu… gang is very much together even now.”
