It's finally happening. Come May 27 and the two Bachchans will share screen space in "Bunty and Babli" for the first time.

"And we couldn't have had more fun making it happen," says Abhishek with a glint in his eyes.

"I was petrified," Abhishek smiles at the memory of shooting with his dad.

"Fortunately 'Bunty Aur Babli' is such a fun film, it just made me loosen up, unwind, let my hair down, put my feet up and... freak out," Abhishek lets out a whoop that can probably be heard all the way outside the walls of his family residence Jalsa.

He sobers down. "Seriously, working with Shaad Ali is such fun, I want to do it again and again."

Not too many people know Abhishek was Shaad Ali's first choice for the superhit "Saathiya" with Rani Mukherjee. "I don't want to go into that. But aren't I a great one when it comes to choosing?" Abhishek grins.

(He had also turned down two other successes "Lagaan" and "Bhoot".)

He lights up at the mention of his 'Babli'. "After 'Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai' and 'Yuva' and 'Hum Tum' (where I played her husband for a bit) Rani and I share a terrific comfort level. We instinctively know how to react to a given scene. It's a very action-reaction kind of thing."

Does he enjoy it when people refer to Abhishek-Rani as the Amitabh-Jaya of the new millennium? He looks at me curiously. "Are you okay? There can never be another pair like Ma and Pa. But Rani and I are special together on screen. We can feel that. It's total masti in 'Bunty Aur Babli'. The two of us get to do things we secretly wanted to do all our lives. We're mischievous, wacky and one-up on everybody."

The general perception is that "Bunty Aur Babli" is the Indian version of the Hollywood caper thriller "Bonnie & Clyde". "Not at all. This film has nothing to do with 'Bonnie & Clyde'. You've to see how Shaad has shot it."

The film was shot in hitherto-uncharted territory in Shaad's home state Uttar Pradesh, in and around Kanpur and Lucknow. "Not only are the locations uniquely rugged, Shaad has presented me, Rani and Pa like never before," reveals Abhishek.

Adds his distinguished dad. " 'Bunty Aur Babli' is a full on fun film. Dhamaka from first to last. I play a cop on the trail of these two con-persons played by Abhishek and Rani. It will be a totally different Rani that the audiences will get to see with me after 'Black'. We're featured in completely different roles from 'Black'. No two films can be more different than 'Black' and 'Bunty Aur Babli'. Except that both have titles beginning with 'B'."

I point out to Amitabh that 2005 is the year of the Bs, the Bachchans, "Black" and now "Bunty Aur Babli".

"Is it?" he laughs. "It could be. I wish my 'Boom' had been released this year then. But I must tell you Abhishek and I don't play father and son in 'Bunty Aur Babli'. And we don't have too many scenes together in the film. For that audiences will have to wait for Ram Gopal Varma's 'Sarkar', which will be our next release together June-end."

Among the many highlights of the film is an item song featuring Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan with Aishwarya Rai.

A sure show-stopper! Producers Yashraj Films have an impeccable track record of successes. Last year itself they had three major successes in "Hum Tum", "Dhoom" and "Veer-Zaara".

Get ready to have fun with the zaniest couple since Laurel and Hardy. "Bunty Aur Babli" are going to storm into your lives.