Imran Khan is looking for his bride...for his on-screen brother Ali Zafar. Still on a high with the success of Delhi Belly, the actor chats up Sreya Basu on his new film Mere Brother ki Dulhan and entry into Yash Raj camp

What makes Mere Brother ki Dulhan a ‘different' film for you?
For the first time I have done a film in this style and pace. Mere Brother ki Dulhan has a lot of songs...all of them choreographed...so lots of dancing for me. Style of the humour in the film is very loud...treatment is on a higher volume.

I had a great time working on it and Ali (director Ali Abbas Zafar) brought out that (comic) side of me that I didn't know I had. Now I am excited to know how people respond to the film.

Tell us about your character in the film?
I play Kush, a boy from Dehradun. The character is heavily inspired by Ali. He has put his real-life character into the story. The idea was to create a guy who people can look at and relate to.

My character (Kush Agnihotri) is a simple, middle-class, small town boy, who has moved to Bombay to work and someone relatable. That's what appealed to me the most. He is not a heroic guy; he is funny, intelligent person who believes in doing the right things. But he is not quintessentially a hero.

Did you face any challenge in playing your character?
The challenge for me was to open myself. I am generally a quieter person, a reserved one. To play this (Kush), I had to rely heavily on my director.

Pick one song from the film that you like the most.
It's a spectacular album and Sohail Sen (music composer) has done a brilliant job. Every song has so much life and energy, the lyrics are also very good. So I am very happy with the album as a whole. But if you ask me to pick one song, it has to be the title track. It's so funny.

You imitated all top stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and your uncle Aamir Khan, in the title song. Comment.
We wanted to pay some respect to all the successful stars of our film industry. The idea was to have some fun. Anyone who watches his/her favourite heroes or heroines, copies their dance steps. We are paying a tribute to them on a bigger scale.

Katrina (Kaif) slapped you 16 times before okaying a shot. What was it like?
Katrina takes a while to get into the feel of the mood and the scene, but I got the feel very early. The intense happiness that one feels after slapping someone tightly, Katrina was not getting that after the first shot. So we did 16 takes and then it was pack up for the day.

The next day we were to shoot a different scene. I had arrived on the set in the evening and I was told Katrina was not happy with her performance yesterday and so we had to redo only that one scene...the slapping one...she is very happy with the rest of the scenes, except that one which she feels she can do better.

I guess she is a method actor. So the next day we did more takes. Now you can actually see that my face is no more symmetrical.

Ali Zafar is playing your brother Luv in the film. How was it working with him?
I spoke to our director Ali Abbas Zafar and said: ‘Yaar, we have to get a really good actor for Bhaisaab's role in the film.' Luv is an interesting character and the person who plays his role must be a very talented actor.

We just could not take anyone. And when Ali Zafar (the actor of Tere Bin Laden fame) finally came on board and we started doing readings and shootings, I realized what a fantastic job he has done. He has given a new height to the character. He is hilarious in the film.