TWF correspondent Vickey Lalwani caught up with Fardeen Khan whose 'Pyare Mohan' released on last Friday.

Q: Your latest 'Pyare Mohan' is not doing too well?
A: Yeah, but it was quite a challenging role. It's not easy to play blind. Most of the time, I have worn dark glasses. And it was not easy to shoot wearing those glasses at night. During the action sequences outdoors especially when I was running in some scenes, it was not easy to avoid some obstacles in the way.

Q: Vivek Oberoi was given the role first. Would you have preferred to play deaf instead?
A: I wouldn't have minded playing deaf. I think that both the roles are equally challenging.

Q: How was it working with Esha Deol as your lover?
A: That's a good question. It wasn't easy to play romantic with Esha because we are very good friends. So, there were scenes, even dramatic ones, where we cracked up. It was difficult to believe that we were behaving in a manner which was so unlike in real life.

Q: How did you and Esha become such good friends?
A: It has been a long association. She and her mother (Hema Malini) have got many clothes made from my mother (Sundari Khan). So the families have known each other for years.

Then she starred in my cousin Zayed's first film 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne'. After pack-up, she, Zayed and I used to hang out together.

Q: You also hurt yourself during the shooting of the climax?
A: Yes, it happened in Bangkok. Boman Irani (who plays an eccentric Don) knocks out Pyare (myself). When he regains consciousness, he starts calling out for his buddy Mohan (Vivek Oberoi). Since it is his legs that are hurt, Pyare can't even get up.

He feels a wire mesh near him, and holding it, tries to get up. At one point in the wire, the metal was sticking out. It went right inside my hand and started bleeding profusely.

Q: Then?
A: I stopped shooting for few hours, and had lots of difficulty in getting sleep that night. We were shooting at an old rice mill. We called the doctor and the nurse to the site. I had to undergo some stitches on the hand. Part and parcel of my job, I guess (smiles).

Q: Were Esha Deol and Amrita Rao present at the site?
A: No, but they were very concerned. After they learnt that I had a cut in his hand, they kept calling me on my mobile. That way, we had another accident during the making of 'Pyare Mohan'.

On November 9th, Vivek Oberoi, Boman Irani and I were enacting a fight scene that had Vivek and myself dragging Boman and punching him in the face. When he was being dragged and turned around, Boman's shoe heel caught on the floor, and he ended up with a badly twisted and swollen knee.

Q: You are doing a film with the makers of 'Being Cyrus'?
A: Yes. It is titled 'Idhar Udhar'. I have known Ambika Hinduja (Being Cyrus producer) since a long time; we are friends. Unlike Being Cyrus, this one is a Hindi commercial masala film. Sushmita Sen and Riteish Deshmukh will be my co-actors.

Q: You have put on a lot of weight in the recent past?
A: Yeah. It's due to the extended honeymoon I had, I guess. But I am getting back in shape. I am working out a lot now. I am confident that these extra kilos are just a matter of time.

Q: Is Priyanka Chopra doing Zeenat Aman's role in the Qurbani remake?
A: So far, only three actors have been decided. Dad (Amjad Khan's role), Saif Ali Khan (Vinod Khanna's role) and myself (Dad's role). Nothing is final as yet on who will play Zeenat Aman's role. However we shall make an official announcement regarding that, very soon.