He is just back from Jaipur after the first schedule of Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodha-Akbar... to a screaming ovation for his performance as the suave Aryan in Dhoom 2.

"The thing is, I've never played someone as cool as Aryan 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 time. And I'm not just in town for a day, but for a full four days. Wow!" he said.

The one thing that Hrithik is gung-ho about is actor 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. 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 2. There was never any one upmanship between Abhishek and me. We were constantly giving each other inputs to better our scenes together," said the actor.

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 known before," said Hrithik.