/> He's just back from Jaipur in Mumbai after the first schedule of Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodha-Akbar...to a screaming ovation.

Yup, Dhoom has got a crazy crazy response, specially Hrithik's performance as the suave Aryan. "The thing is, I've never played someone as cool as Aryan (the character in Dhoom) before. That's what people like so much, I guess. It's too early to gauge the film's impact.

But yes, I must tell you this is the first time I'm in Mumbai to actually enjoy the response to one of my films. I've not been in town for any of my film's releases for a long long time. And I'm not just in town for a day, but for a full four days. Wow"

The one thing that Hrithik is gung-ho about is Abhishek Bachchan. "I'm not saying this for effect. But Abhishek really inspires me. He has the potential to be one of our truly great actors. I know he keeps saying that I inspire him.

But I really look up to him. In fact we've made a pact. Abhishek and I will do one film together every two years. You've no idea how much fun Abhishek, Uday and I had doing Dhoom. There was never any oneupanship between me and Abhishek. We were constantly giving each other inputs to better our scenes together."

And now Hrithik is looking forward to the world tour with the two Bachchans in mid-2007.

For now, Hrithik seems to be looking at Dhoom 2 as the present tense and Jodha-Akbar as the future perfect.

"I never knew a costume drama could be so tiring! We've shot a battle sequence and I've been oblivious to the current world. Now I feel I'm back into the land of the living. Doing Jodha-Akbar is like entering a totally different world. I feel I'm getting to know things about myself as an actor that I hadn't know before."

It looks like two mega-hits for Hrithik in 2006. "I repeat, it's too early to draw conclusions about Dhoom 2. But yes, like Krissh, Dhoom is an out-and-out entertainer. And people love the fact that I can actually play a character with such an innate sense of mischief."