And had he been in 'serial kisser" Emraan Hashmi's shoes, Maria would have left him long ago, said the actor, who made a mark with his role as the lovable Circuit in the two "Munnabhai" roles.
"Like any other wife, she would not like to share her husband with anybody. So let us put it this way, if I was in Emraan's shoes, Maria would have left me long time back. If I had to do a whole lot of smooching scenes, she would have dumped me," Arshad told.
"Even I can't do that! It's just that in 'Ishqiya', Maria didn't stop me because she was very clear that it was Vishal's movie... there was no cheapness," he added.
Nevertheless, he sets the record straight about his own comfort level with intimate scenes.
"I am not comfortable doing bold scenes and I don't think I will ever be. I palpitate, I sweat and I get nightmares. Till the time that one kiss scene with Vidya, didn't get over, I was on gas," he quipped.
In his forthcoming film "Zilla Ghaziabad", however, he says he has a "very sensuous scene" with Minissha Lamba.
"But there is no nudity, no kissing... nothing," said Arshad, adding that "it was choreographed very well. It looks good".
He is excited about playing a negative role in the political action-thriller, releasing Feb 22.
"It's exciting because for the first time I am playing a negative role. I am excited about that and the people are quite amazed to see me in that space. I hope they like my work," said the 44-year-old, who is especially happy that people are comparing his look with the iconic Gabbar Singh.
"People have accepted me as a versatile actor. I got some good response for my look. Many said that I look like Gabbar Singh; so I am getting what I wanted," he added.
In the movie, Arshad will once again share screen space with Sanjay Dutt after their successful "Munnabhai" franchise. In "Zilla Ghaziabad" they will however be seen as rivals.
"Thank god, I don't have too many scenes with him, and thank god we are not fighting with each other. It was very tough for me to show that I am very angry with Sanjay. I can never do that.
"We are on screen best friends and off screen, he is a senior actor and I have respect for him. I like him very much and that respect will always be there. Working with him is super fun; he is a cool dude," he added.