/> Far away in the jungles of Cochin shooting for Mani Ratnam Abhishek Bachchan has had no time to celebrate the success of Dostana.

"Of course we'll have a party when we get back. But at the moment I'm celebrating by doing more quality work."

Abhishek is happy to be a gay icon. "I 'm very happy with that. Why should I be surprised or shocked? I think homosexuals are as human as anyone else. It's a matter of great pride if I'm their icon."

Abhishek describes his pairing with John as the jodi of the moment. "Other screen couples can go eat their hearts out."

Abhishek's effeminate gestures in Dostana have raised eyebrows.And there's talk that his father hasn't really liked Junior's character or performance.

Abhishek is aghast. "Why should he take offence? Not at all! The film is not about homosexuality. Dostana isn't Brokeback Mountain. It was just a comedy. My whole family has thoroughly enjoyed it. Who doesn't enjoy a good laugh?It's a normal fun film. Aishwarya is very happy it's a big hit....my second big hit of the year after Sarkar Raj."

Whom was he copying in Dostana?

"Dostana wasn't made in haseen-mazaaq. We had a lot of fun making the film. But we were serious about the making of the film.I worked very hard on the gestures. And mannerisms.

We in this country tend to take comedies very frivolously. Good locales, good songs....and that's it. In Dostana I had to work very hard to portray a straight man acting gay. It could easily have gone over-board.

I wanted to avoid making the character caricatural.Barring one portion (the flashback about how John met Abhishek) we kept it controlled."

This was the toughest character for Abhishek to play. "It's unfortunate these kinds of films aren't taken seriously. It wasn't a character I could sleepwalk through. People think we partied hard while shooting Dostana in Miami. Wrong. We worked from early morning till night worked out and crashed out."

Abhishek says he isn't surprised by the success of Dostana. "I knew it was workable when I heard the script. I was convinced it'd be a very entertaining way. We knew the audiences would laugh with us, that they wanted something entertaining to get their minds off a hard day's work."

Abhiskek admits the disappointment of Drona has been wiped away by the success of Dostana.

"It's always wonderful to be a part of a hit. Dostana was the name of Karan Johar's Dharma Productions' first film and it starred my dad. When Karan and I put our heads together we spontaneously decided Dostana was the best title for our film."

Far from the madding appreciation Abhishek is enjoying the hit. " It gives you back your selfconfidence. I worked very hard on Drona.I felt hugely disappointed when it didn't do well. Drona will always remain close to my heart."

Abhishek next moves to Munnar with Mani. "Munnar is where Pa shot Nishabd with Ramu."

Reacting to media reports that he wore a cap in Mumbai to hide the special look for Mani's look, Abhishek laughs, "I know Mani is secretive about his characters' look.

But there's only so much one can do. An actor has many commitments to fulfil besides the film on hand. I'm sure Mani understands that. No, I wore a cap for no particular reason."