by Subhash K Jha

Not too many people know this. But when his dream project Shukriya bombed, Aftab Shivdasani went into an acute depression.

"That was the biggest shock of my life. Everyone assiociated with Shukriya said it was a Sholay in the making. Naturally all of us get carried away. It was very dear to me. When the film flopped for nine whole months from October 8, 2004 onwards, I withdrew completely from public view. I sat at home, let my hair grow, didn't care about what I looked like or what I did. It was a time of great turmoil for me. I had to make decisions about the way my life and career went.

"Nothing interested me. I wanted to rejuvenate myself. In those nine months I turned down innumerable assignments. People thought I had gone nuts. And now my second phase has begun...Right now I'm shooting for Vikram Bhatt's Ankahee where I play a very complicated character, and a man much older than I am...just like I did in Vikram's Qasoor."

Aftab plays a doctor in Ankahee. "It has elements from Vikram Bhatt's life. But it isn't autobiographical. I've surrendered completely to the director's vision. Vikram is guiding me through the film. This is my fourth film with him. He and Ramu are directors I trust blindly."

The turbulent period has ended with a crop of new films including Vikram Bhatt's Ankahee, Ekta Kapoor's Koi Aap Saa, and most interesting of all, David Dhawan's next.

"I've never worked with David Dhawan before. He has been telling me that he would like to work with me for a long time. He always says I'm very talented. That's very encouraging. But nothing materialized until now. The best thing about David's film is that I'd be working with Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay is such a sweetheart. I'm really looking forward to working with him. There can never be any friction with your co-star when it's someone as accommodating as Sanjay Dutt."

About his new release, Aftab says Ekta Kapoor had been in talks with him for a while. "But something always went wrong. I didn't want to say no to Koi Aap Sa because it dealt with a social issue. That's something she's very good at. It's a character-driven plot. Only three principal characters take the narrative forward. But it's not a triangle, and neither is it an unconventional film. To be very honest, Koi Aap Sa is the last of my candyfloss films. It's right up my alley. Ankahee is the assigment where I really go into a different orbit as an actor."

Aftab is busy reinventing with himself.

"My double role in Jaane Hoga Kya will shock people. It's a thriller, unlike any other, with not a hint of comedy...Not that I don't enjoy comedy. But a guy has to get serious some time in life. In Darwaza Band Rakho which is a black comedy by Chekravarthy I've changed my appearance completely. I play a kidnapper who holds the heroine hostage. I've done a funny kidnapping caper Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega before. But this is serious stuff."

Next Aftab goes into Subhash Ghai-Satish Kaushik's Shaadi Se Pehle with Akshaye Khanna and Ayesha takia. "It's a mad mad film. I love doing comedy. That's why I'm looking forward to working with Zayed Khan and Sanjay Dutt in David Dhawan's film. Why am I not in the Awaara Paagal Deewana sequel? I don't know. Producer Feroz Nadiadwala should answer that. I also have an action film with Ramu next year...So this is the best most productive phase of my career. Six years are up. The second –half has started. Thank God for the nine-month layoff. It helped me bounce back."

Aftab admits he has no good friends in the film industry. "No one here you can count on it , so why fool ourselves with these silly thoughts? We're all here to work. And I've to work doubly hard since I'm an outsider. I've no godfathers and no sugar daddys. My career has been an uphill struggle all the way."

This affable actor guards his privacy very intensely. "I know that makes me boring copy. But so be it. I'm willing to be left out of centrespread write-ups. I'd rather not be written about than have my private life up for public consumption.I'm very moody...I like to be alone or with my handful of friends, none of them from the industry, who have been with me from my childhood."

He admits his much talked-about friendship with Esha Deol has added a sensuous frisson to their characters in Vikram Bhatt's Ankahee. "We're comfortable doing our characters because we've known each other for a long time."