Says Saif Ali Khan who has now decided to give up on romantic roles post 'Agent Vinod'. The actor talks about his latest film, girlfriend Kareena Kapoor and more...

Despite rumours surrounding his impending marriage making the rounds way too often, Saif Ali Khan has decided to stay away from romance, at least on screen.

The actor now believes that he is too old to be running around trees and it's high time he 'grows up.' His latest spy-thriller Agent Vinod being the first move towards becoming more 'macho' than Saif has ever been known for.

He says, "Well I don't know if action's been my forte, but it's something that is interesting me at this point in time. Films like Agent Vinod and Race 2 excite me more than say a Love Aaj Kal.

"While I'm respective and appreciative of the roles that have given me the success and credibility, at this age I think I would like to do something more strong and mature."

Growing up
Considering it's an image that's working like magic for his fellow Khans, it's no surprise that Saif's keen on treading the same path. However, for the actor who has grown up on Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman action thrillers, Bollywood films are still too romanticised to depict reality.

He adds, "In America they like complicated situations, grey characters, real issues. For us, even today, we love heroes. For example, Sriram's (Raghavan) last film with me, Ek Haseena Thi had some level of grit and realism to it.

"But it still wasn't as much compared to international films. I don't think we are particularly honest about portraying reality in our films and they have left us behind in that space."

Action-packed
So how 'real' is Agent Vinod?

"Well, he is a hero too and he loves his country, but not in an I-will-die-for-the-nation kind of way. He is more irreverent and cynical in his ways. What's interesting is that he still has the girls, the machine guns and his plans to escape, but not necessarily in that order. That's where Sriram will surprise you."

Interestingly, for Saif's real life girlfriend, none of these matter, as long as she did not have to jump off skyscrapers.

He adds, "Kareena would do a Jab We Met any day as compared to an Agent Vinod. But she does look good in whatever little action she has had to do."

And lastly though Vinod has his way with many girls, Saif most definitely is a one-woman man. Even though he absolutely refuses to divulge anything more.

"It's so difficult to do an interview without getting personal. You can ask all you want but I won't talk about the marriage!"