With John Abraham, the conversation at some point or the other veers towards fitness, exercise, diet and such like. This interview, the second perhaps in a year, is no different. Meanwhile, it’s been a mixed bag with hits and misses for Mr Abraham but he’s bounced back. Last year began on a good note with an Oscar nomination for Deepa Mehta’s Water, but only so much. Anurag Kashyap’s No Smoking, an experiment with established truths of the film industry did not fare well. Neither did UTV’s Goal (after a spectacular sports-based movie like ‘Chak De! India’) that did not make the muster. There was talk of trouble in paradise with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashaeyin being reported to be in trouble with distributors. Enough reasons to think that an actor is going to slash his price, take every role that comes his way and generally play safe.

Cut to Tarun Mansukhani’s ‘Dostana’,which was making a lot of news for its gay theme and the chemistry between Abhishek Bachchan and Abraham and co-star Priyanka Chopra in a golden swimsuit etc. Post-release and its multiplex success, Abraham’s outing in a canary yellow brief has redeemed him. For a person who has often been accused of being expressionless (Kareena Kapoor said as much on Koffee With Karan) he has done rather well. He is ready with yet another Yash Raj film —Kabir Khan’s New York, David Dhawan’s ‘Hook Ya Crook’, a film with Abbas Tyrewala and one with Nishikant Kamat. “I am not such a big star that Bollywood’s top directors plan films with me in mind. But equally, I feel that the new generation of directors is big. For me, Nishikant Kamat is a big director.”

Considering none less than SRK has him in mind for a film opposite Bipasha Basu for a film under his home banner, Abraham need not worry. He admits to being very fond of Shah Rukh Khan who he thought was brilliant as Suri in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’. “Shah Rukh is the only one who can call me uncle,” he says laughing.

The actor who has been reported to demand (and get) a consistently high price —a crore upwards - says that he is reasonable about his remuneration. “I understand economies of scale and I would never charge a price that is disproportionate with the project in question.” The success of ‘Dostana’ has obviously tipped the scales in his favour and ‘the butt’ is now pivotal to the adulation coming his way. There were reports of female fans getting too close for comfort but Abraham treats it with his brand of easy charm. “All that everybody is talking about is my body in ‘Dostana’ …it’s a little strange.”

The actor admits that all this attention on his near-perfect physique sometimes takes the attention away from his acting and nuanced performances because all people want of him is to look good! “Karan told me, ‘as a star, it is your duty to look good.’”

He is happy taking chances (Taxi No 9-2-1-1, No Smoking, Water or even Kabul Express), thank you. “I was a little before time. I think I did those movies very early on in my career. No Smoking was an interesting experimental film, but in hindsight, I’d say we pitched it wrong, like adding a song etc.”

His next – New York - about three friends and their lives post 9/11 is an interesting film. According to John, it continues with director Kabir Khan’s gritty, docu-style though it is milder than ‘Kabul Express’ which was shot in the war-ravaged Pak-Afghan border.

Success and fame, he says, have not changed him too much. “I was always a confident person,” he says with a laugh. Abraham, is also game to be part of Dhoom 3/4/8 or whatever for two reasons – a) because he is a biker at heart and b) since he has always maintained that Dhoom (after his debut Jism) turned his career around. “Karan (Johar) and Adi (Chopra) as also Ronnie (Screwvala) have been very supportive and have always been there for me. “

Meanwhile the actor is also experimenting with roles. David Dhawan’s ‘Hook Ya Crook’ is an example. “I have always played characters with which I had a comfort level vis-a-vis my personal life. Hook ‘Ya Crook’ is a departure in that sense.”