If one were ever to run into Shekhar Suman, it`s only a freak chance that the actor would spare anyone a lengthy monologue on the tortuous journey he has had to undergo. One journalist recalls how the garrulous Shekhar literally hijacked him at a hotel lobby and insisted on engaging him with his diatribe against Bollywood which "has ignored his great talent."

He is also in the habit of visiting publishing houses with tapes of his programmes on air and footage from his forthcoming films. As if this isn`t enough, he takes down mobile numbers of journalists to invite them over for a "singing session" at his place since music is another one of his passions. The ramblings on the box are explicable for your job is to entertain. But why do you have to carry your small screen act into your real life?

"It`s his inherent tendency to blabber that`s irritating," says an actress who hasn`t had a pleasant experience with him on one of her concerts of which he too was a part. "On television, one at least has the option to switch him off."