Suneil Shetty confesses to Jyothi Venkatesh on the eve of the release of his latest film Tum Milo Toh Sahi that it was his biggest mistake that he concentrated on production at the cost of his own career as an actor.

Tell me about you latest release as an actor- Tum Milo Toh Sahi?
I look at my latest release as an actor - Tum Milo Toh Sahi as a positive film with a message. It is about getting your priority in life. When you are young, you have the energy but do not have the money.

When you reach the middle age, you have money but no time. When you become old, you have the time and money but unfortunately you are left with no energy. This is what the film sets out to convey.

What is your role in Tum Milo Toh Sahi?
I play Amit, a head honcho in a multinational company. I feel that any achiever who wants the world at his feet starts believing that he is invincible and money can buy anything. What happens in the bargain when he misses his life is what the character that I play is all about.

How tough was it for you to play your gray character in the film?
I have always maintained that it is very boring for an actor to play routine roles. I would definitely say that it was a challenge for me to play Amit, because I had to bring to the fore through my character the nuances of arrogance, love, pain, emotion as well as ruthlessness since Amit is all black. What I like about my character is that he gradually moves from gray to white.

Did it help you that you had formidable co-actors like Nana and Dimple in the film?
As an actor, I never let myself forget the fact that it is always the other actors who help you to enhance your own character in any film. The reason why Red Alert has been liked by the audience wherever it was shown is that all the actors have done a good job.

To what extent could you relate to your character in real life too?
I could relate to my character a lot, because in real life too I am business minded and very aggressive and want to be successful but unlike my character, in real life my family comes first to me. My father is 85 now.

I make it a point to sit with him and talk to him every day and bring a smile on his face. One side of the character is me whereas the other side is not me.

I have often observed people going to Delhi on morning flights, with laptops and have over heard them having big talks about business before the flights take off.

It was actually quite tough for me to get into the skin of the character because fluency of dialogue was required and I had to look arrogant though I do not look arrogant from any angle in real life.

It definitely helped me that Kabir Sadnanad, who is a good actor, though young is a very good director with a great vision.

What is the secret of your having survived for twenty years in the business?
I have been conscious with the way I have built all my relationships. I guess that is the main reason that I have lasted for the past twenty years ever since I had made my bow with Balwaan.

Over the years, I definitely concede that ways of the film industry has changed. I would say that then it was more like a family whereas nowadays it is more of a business. However, all said and done, the shelf life of films has also changed.

Would you agree that plunging into production of films was a mistake on your part?
I confess that it was my biggest mistake that I concentrated on production at the cost of my own career as an actor. I would not deny that I lost not only my precious time but also money in films as a producer.

I am not a businessman because I could not concentrate on quality. Yet, I'd say that fortunately for me, films have always been there for me as an actor.

Your partnership with Ekta Kapoor and Jeetendra went kaput!
My partnership with Ekta Kapoor did not take off. Yet I would not say a word against Jeetusaab and Ekta Kapoor, because both of them have given me tremendous respect. In fact, if everything goes well, I am even toying with the idea of launching Joy Augustine's Little Godfather with Ekta Kapoor as my co-producer.

You started off as an action hero with revenge dramas. Do you dig revenge dramas even now?
Though I have acted in umpteen number of action packed revenge dramas in the initial stage of my career as an actor, I have become fed up of them and I do not dig revenge dramas any more, because I feel that they are senseless.

After a long time, you will be seen in Tum Milo Toh Sahi. Do you have any other film up your sleeves?
Though I will be seen in Tum Milo Toh Sahi after a long time, I have been very busy acting in films like Anees Bazmee's No Problem, an action film which has been as yet untitled with Priyadarshan as the director and the Hindi remake of the Malayalam hit Keertichakra with Priyadarshan's associate Major Ravi as the director, with ten commandos.

I am now also doing Apoorva Lakhia's Taxi Service, in which my co-actors will be Amitji, Sanjubaba, Anil Kapoor and a relatively junior actor. Red Alert is also now being readied for an early release.

You seem to share a great chemistry with Sanjay Dutt!
Sanjubaba and I are like chalk and cheese. I'd say that Sanjubaba is a batman who sets out to operate at night whereas I operate during the day.

How would you describe your transition as an actor from Balwaan to Tum Milo Toh Sahi?
I would say that it has been a very satisfactory transition from the initial stage when the critics had written me off as a wooden actor to my bagging the Best Actor award for my performance in Ananth Mahadevan's Red Alert.

I chose the transition. There was a certain amount of truth when the critics criticised me as a bad actor.

I got out of the rut of action films after I lost my positioning and slowly and steadily set myself as an actor with comic timing with films like Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri and then set out to whip the patriotic flavor by doing films like Border.