/> It has been a childhood fantasy for Saif.... To play a secret agent,a la James Bond or Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.

Ever since the Rajshris made the low-budget espionage thriller Agent Vinod in 1977 featuring the then-rising Mahendra Sandhu (whatever happened to Sandhu?!) as the spy who loved girls gadgets and stunts, Saif has been fascinated by the thought of doing a take on the title.

Director Sriram Raghavan who did a career-turning film Ek Haseena Thi with Saif, is all set to make Saif's dream come true.

Says Sriram, "Though our Agent Vinod will have nothing to do with the old Rajshri film of that name it would be exploring the same espionage territory, albeit in an entirely new idiom. Saif and I had been brainstorming over this project for a long time and yes, now it's on."

Saif currently sporting a moustache for his role in Yashraj Films' Tashan is all set to lose weight to look lean mean and macho to play Agent Vinod.

Says Saif, "I looked sinewy for Ek Hasina Thi. I can do the same again."

Apparently it would be a full-on take on the James Bond-Tom Cruise genre of sensuous spying with Saif dressed in the best, wooing and bedding some of the most glamorous women in the industry.

To ensure Saif's Agent Vinod turns out just so, the star-on-the-rise would be producing the film under a banner he's starting with his friend and business associate.

Says Saif, "I want to produce anything from an espionage thriller to a period murder mystery which might not make too much money, to an off-the-wall romantic comedy, any slice-of-life film.... I'm not looking at making money here, though it'd be nice if my productions do make money.

But my partner and close friend Dinesh Vijen and I are making films that other people wouldn't want to make with me. "