"Even if your last film is a hit, that doesn't guarantee that your next film will be a hit too. You have to prove yourself with every film because you are as good as your last film. Even for the biggest of stars in Bollywood, every film counts, " Imran told in an interview.
"The pressure to deliver a hit is exactly the same with every film - it doesn't matter whether you have given a hit or a flop in the past, " he added.
Imran featured as a journalist in the offbeat adult comedy "Delhi Belly" and has now donned quite a different avatar in "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan", made under Yash Raj Films. In the film, which also stars Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar, the 28-year-old plays a Dehradun boy who looks for a bride for his brother and ends up falling in love with the same girl.
"This character is not very heroic. He is a simple Dehradun boy next door, very relatable. He wears simple jeans, check shirt, nothing fancy about him. He is a normal guy, " said the actor, who is having his share of struggle and flops in the industry despite being the nephew of Bollywood perfectionist Aamir Khan.
"Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" is slated for a Sep 9 release and Imran describes it as being different from his previous projects.
He has done films like "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na" and "I Hate Luv Storys" but maintains that this latest one has raised the bar for mainstream films.
" 'Jaane Tu...', although mainstream, yet had a sense of realism. 'I Hate Luv Storys' was a big step up and this film is bigger than that, " said Imran.
"It is special for me because it is a typical Bollywood film. This is the first film where I have done so much lip syncing of songs, so much choreographed dance. YRF has a certain style of filmmaking and this is the first time that I have done that. Even the comedy is much louder, more drastic. I never thought that I will be able to carry this off, " he added.
In the film, helmed by newcomer Ali Abbas Zafar, Imran is paired with Katrina - his most inspiring co-star so far!
"Katrina inspires me a lot. The level of dedication she has for her work is unbelievable. For a girl, who came here not knowing a word of Hindi, she speaks clean, proper Hindi today. The way she has worked on that is incredible, " he said.
"The way she works on her scene, her dialogues, her dance, her body, her fitness, the kind of energy she has and the kind of effort she puts in is more than any other co-star that I have worked with. It's honestly more than my level of dedication too. It's quite close to Aamir's dedication."