/> Boman shot in London to play the coach of Vivek Agnihotri's football team in Goal.

But unlike other actors who prepare for roles by getting in shape, Boman was going the other way. "I let go as far as my physical fitness is concerned. The coach was a burnt-out spent force, hence out of shape. And that's the shape of things.

If I was meant to be a footballer I'd lose weight and become lean and mean. But I played a washed-out guy with a sordid past running away from the truth. I think I needed to not look like Boman but someone who may have been an athlete twenty years ago.

So my look had to be out of shape but hints of being in shape at some point in the past. It's interesting to raise the bars for myself. I like to revel in the tension of getting into character. "

Boman watched every football flicks from Hollywood. "Quite a few have washed-out coaches, like The Longest Yard. The role was a bit of a cliché. But to make it new was the challenge."

Goal was shot in real football locations in London. "We shot at the Manchester stadium which is the mecca of football. I'm really excited. 2007 was an exciting year for me.

There was Hey Baby coming up where I played the baby's grand-dad who was a little bit of a meanie. Director Sajid Khan and I had a regular movie-quiz sessions on the sets. Reluctantly he conceded defeat to me.

And I'm very proud. Had I not been a Hindi movie buff from the time when I was a kid, I don't think I'd have fitted into this world, given the world that I come from."

Hey Baby was one more film where Boman meets up with Vidya Balan. "Yeah we seem to be running into each other all the time. I'm really fond of her."

Unlike others of his ilk, Boman is happy with fan attention.

"They become obsessive and nasty only when you snub them or cut them off. I always speak to them patiently. The more you deny them the more persistent they get.

So yeah, I think I deal with them smartly. Attention is nice. When someone at a restaurant sends a note scribbled on a napkin and says this is the first time he's reaching out to an actor, it feels really good."