by Subhash K Jha

Saif is getting ready for a holiday in Kenya with his kids and Rosa to bring in the new year. But his excitement is tinged with regret. The road accident and its aftermath were unpleasant.

One of the unfortunate repercussions was the incident outside the court house where Saif is supposed to have called the gathered journalists "monkeys".

Saif doesn't deny using the term. "But it wasn't addressed at any specific group of people. It was just an expression of my annoyance at being crowded at a time when I was under so much stress. When I saw five hundred people outside court shoving and pushing I just lost it."

"But then you must try to put yourself in my shoes and see how it felt. I had done everything properly for the kid whom I had hit. He's happy. His family is happy. I'm happy. Then why the unpleasantness, my friend? I bear no grudges against anyone, least of all mediapersons who've always been extremely supportive."

And guess what? Saif has now sung live at a rock concert in Delhi. "I can't say I'm a great singer. But I manage. I hope I didn't make a fool of myself. I didn't think I did. I never in my wildest dream , thought it'd be so much fun," Saif is exultant but a tad tired.

He has flown from Delhi after his historic live performance with the band Parikrama to Goa to shoot a potato-chips ad. But the images and memories of Sunday evening's rock concert linger. "It was an awesome experience. I played the guitar on stage for a good forty-five minutes...None of that rock-star- in- scruffy- jeans, long -hair, dragging- his- guitar on- to- stage act for me...I think my performance was more what I wanted to express than what a rock concert is supposed to be."

"Would you believe, I finally sang two songs on stage! One was 'Roadhouse Blues' by the Doors, the other was 'Johnny B Goode' by Chuck Berry. I played 'Highway To hell' and 'A Whole Lot Of Rosie' by AC/DC and a rhythm-and-blues track by Parikrama. Yeah, I think I did well for myself."

Saif is very pleased with Parikrama. "They're really good. I enjoyed being on stage so much with them that I've decided to do another concert with Parkirama this time in Mumbai....The best thing about the Delhi concert was the knowledgable audience. There were no star-gazers there, only rock fans who grooved to the beats."

Just one regret. "I wish my two children were there to watch me. They'd have seen an entirely new side to their father's personality. But they will be going with me on a holiday for New Year's eve. They need to catch up with their studies and be with their mom. Maybe they can watch me when I perform in Mumbai."

He'll also be pitching in for a project called Live Aid for AIDS victims. "Why not? Doing things where your celebrity helps raise funds for the needy, is a great feeling. It's not about feeling superior. It's about feeling useful. We don't always get a chance to do the kind of work that offers us a chance to go beyond simple entertainment. If I can entertain and serve a purpose, that's fantastic."

Career-wise Saif has three films lined up shooting in 2006.

"In January I go into Vishal Bhardwaj's Othello. Then there's Sidhartha (Salaam Namaste) Anand's film. Finally I've said yes to Abbas-Mustan's new thriller where Fardeen will play my brother. It's a crackling whodunit...quite the two directors' forte. I've never worked with Abbas-Mustan. And I'm quite looking forward to it."

Saif's next release is Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya. "In fact Vinod has brought out an awesome coffee-table book on the film. When I went visiting Mr Bachchan at the hospital this week we all went through the book ...it's a work of art."

He's none too pleased with a section of the press commenting on Rosa's clothes at the hospital . "She was dressed in a tee-shirt when we visited Mr Bachchan. What's wrong with that?"