It helps to have Yash Chopra for a father. Ask Uday Chopra, whose latest fling at acting - a cameo in Mujhse Dosti Karoge - hasn`t set the Arabian Sea on fire. So he is quietly continuing to pick up the ropes of direction.

He is serving as an assistant to elder brother Aditya as he gives finishing touches to his next script. Uday, however, dismisses all suggestions that he is preparing for life after acting. "I have always taken active interest in all that happens behind the camera," he asserts. Not many outside producers are keen to cast him in their films. He refuses to accept defeat and is quick to defend himself, "I came into this world to act - if that means acting for only my home banner, it`s cool."

So his strategy is clear. Wait for his brother or father to launch a film while and he learn the ropes of direction, which he can fall back on when the going gets really tough.