Are you overwhelmed by the super success of ' Dabangg'?
You bet. To say that we were not sure about its runaway success would not be correct. But you never know what lies in store.

On our part we had tried to put everything straight; the script, the theme bordering on the rustic milieu, the treatment, the huge production value in lieu with new debut making heroine Sonakshi Sinha and a new director Abhinav Kashyap to hold the entire directorial reigns.

I am making a reference as ' We' because it may sound clichéd but yes it was our entire team's kadi mehnat.

Is it right to give all the credit to Arbaaz Khan, don't you think it's the other way round that your star value has added to the success of ' Dabangg'?
For once I am thankful to you and the entire media for still thinking that I am a star. I am honored. But still frankly and honestly speaking ' Dabangg' was totally Arbaaz's brainchild and he had the guts to go ahead with it and repose his complete faith in me to carry on and live up to his and the director's and the complete team's expectation.

What according to you is the USP of ' Dabangg'?
The USP of ' Dabangg' I think everything. But let me be modest enough to claim that it was my role of a corrupt police officer Chulbul (Robin Hood) Pandey's, with shades and tinge of comic interludes, characterization that has done the trick.

Aur thodasa credit main apni moochon ko bhi dena chahoonga (I would like to give a little bit of credit to the moustache..) which I have sported in the movie. But I don't remember it if I have done it for the first time or after a long, long time.

Then of course the other USP of ' Dabangg' is the Bindaas direction of Abhinav Kashyap, the high voltage foot tapping music and songs scored by Sajid – Wajid whom I always consider as my lucky mascots since ' Muhjse Shaadi Karogi?' days.

I don't think the audiences will forget Malaika's item song ' Munni Badnaam Hui Darling Tere Liye!' in a hurry. Not to forget my darling heroine Sonakshi Sinha who came across as such a natural and ' Dabangg', this literally means a powerful – hardcore – rough - tagda - majboot, performer. She has literally lived up to my film's title ' Dabangg' with very few dialogues and just the expression conveyed through her badi badi jheel si aankhen.

Moving away from 'Dabangg' to something a little more... shall we say... spicy? Why do you think you have this love and hate relationship with the media?
Main kahoonga ki iske liye bhi aap log hi zimmedaar hai! Sach bataoon toh... (I'd say that you guys are responsible for this too! To tell you the truth...) I hate the media only when they sometimes or rather always put me on the wrong footing.

But I also love the media because they always help me to promote my upcoming films so well that sometimes they become blockbusters and here I am not talking about my films like ' Veer' but my films like ' Dabangg'.

Fair enough. So is it that controversies follow you wherever you go or you fall into controversies by being at the wrong place at the wrong time?
Don't you think you media guys are responsible for this part of my life too? The media always labels me, tags me with varied epithets like destiny's favorite controversial child, temperamental star et al and the height of atrocity is that they also have the guts to call me media's favorite whipping boy! But never mind that. First of all let me clear a few myths that have been nonchalantly attributed to me.

For i.e. my temperamental mood swings or my so called aversion to interact with the media. To the first I would say that regardless of any consequences, every creatively involved person is moody and so am I.

But that certainly does not mean that I am a typical ' Khadoos', a colloquial word for 'arrogant' in a typical Bambaiyya language. It's just that I am very reserved and fail to open up very fast.

But my near and dear ones, my co-stars and my friends will vouch for the fact that I am the biggest prankster, a jovial person, a cool dude, yet very reluctant to share even breathing space with strangers, and yes, sometimes even my fans become the victims of my aloofness.

To the second I would say that I never hated the media and neither do they hate me. In fact, I am highly indebted to them, as whenever I have highly deserved it, I have unfailingly got my overdue share of their critical appreciation too. But, of course, we are always at loggerheads as far as my personal life is concerned.

In this regard I would say that I have been manipulated and even duped. Whenever I have bared my heart and my soul in good faith I have always ended up getting misquoted with facts distorted beyond redemption. So what's the point? I feel as at the end of the day they write what they want.

Recently Ahmed Khan, the choreographer, narrated a very humorous incident regarding the Filmfare Awards, which made me believe that quite like Aamir Khan, even you have an allergy as far as Award Ceremonies are concerned?
I not only have an aversion towards awards but also towards stage shows. I am not very comfortable strutting around my wares on stage or even dancing away to my topless glory in all those award functions where they never gave me an award, not even a consolation trophy even once.

Just kidding! But I still do perform in award ceremonies. And when they try to offer me a trophy now as part of a performing act, I refuse point blank to do so as I believe and I have more interest in charging them for a performance.

In fact I threaten them mockingly with dire consequences if they offer me a trophy ever again by adding that if they have spare ones please send me half a dozen so that I can change all the door knobs of my house.

Do you miss the people who have gone out of your life or with whom you have had a fall out with?
I don't want to talk about people who have gone out of my life. I have had a major fall out only with Shah Rukh Khan with whom I am never going to reconcile. Yes! The twain shall never meet... Besides, he was not my girlfriend so why should I ever miss him?