Arya Babbar's career is on a new high. After signing two films, one of them with a Pakistani director, Arya is now set to make his stage debut mother Nadira Babbar's forthcoming play.

The untitled play, revolving around the insurgency in Assam, will depict him as an army captain. The details are still being worked out and the play will be staged in the last week of July.

He is also eagerly looking forward to working with noted Pakistani director Shehzad Rafique in "Mohabbatein Sachen".

Rafique had seen "Ab Ke Baras" and approached Arya's father Raj Babbar when the actor politician was visiting Pakistan, Arya said. Rafique later narrated the subject to Arya, who is awaiting a second and final narration after which the film will go on the floor.

Arya clarifies that it is not a Pakistani film as is being made out.

"I would call it an international Punjabi film being directed by a Pakistani director. The film is a collaborative venture between producers from Pakistan and London," he says.

The film that he is eagerly looking forward to is "Khel Khel Mein", which is expected to re-launch him in a big way in an all-new role with tinges of gray. It is rumoured to be a re-make of "Insaaf ka Tarazu" which starred the senior Babbar, but Arya insists otherwise.

"Only the basic idea is inspired from dad's film after which the director has gone further with a new version and a new script," he says.

Isn't he apprehensive about taking up a negative role in the beginning of his career?

"I am here to act irrespective of whether the role etched is romantic, comic or negative. Besides, my father started his career with negative roles and later went on to play completely different characters.

"And for that matter even Shah Rukh started off being an anti-hero, though both of them are way ahead of me in acting."

And Arya, it seems, is really serious about his career. He has acquired an all-new look, with a different hair-do, and has started a rigorous workout schedule to get those six-pack abs and chiselled contours.