Critics club him with silver-screen stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, but Bollywood actor Kay Kay Menon believes that the one trait that separates him from others is his "lack of preparation".

"As an actor, I believe that one needs imagination rather than research to be a successful performer. I have never made any serious preparation for any of my films," Kay Kay told in an interview here.

"Some say that for the realistic portrayal of a character, one needs to do a lot of research and prepare himself much before the filming. But I have never felt the need for all that. Acting comes to me naturally.

"There is nothing called realism in acting - it's all about dramatic realism. Through the camera and imagination, I try to reach the soul of the character. For me, my bible is the script."

The actor, who has done much applauded films like "Sarkar", "Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi", "Deewar", "Silsiilay" and "Black Friday", is now working for "Highway 203" after his ready-to-release film "Dansh".

About being hailed as a poster boy for parallel cinema, the actor shrugged. "I want to be remembered as an actor and a good performer. I just delve deep into the character and try to make it three-dimensional. Tags are unfortunate."

"But I am not bothered about all these as nomenclature is a part of human nature and fans are going to club you in some league or the other," said the 36-year-old Malayalee from Pune.

With his portrayal of a wide variety of roles, the artiste said he does not belong to any particular group. "No name is my name."

In spite of critical acclaim, the actor who has been a theatre actor since he was nine-years-old revealed that as soon as the shooting of a film is over, he tries to forget it to avoid being bogged down by box office pressure.

"I take one project at a time and try to do justice to the script of my film. But as soon as the filming is over, it's better to forget the whole thing. There is no box office pressure on me."

When asked about his theatre experience and its impact on his Bollywood life, he said: "Theatre taught me acting and boosted my confidence. But doing theatre is totally different from acting in a film. I do not carry baggage from the past. The effort is to give something new to myself and to my fans."