As candid as ever, Saif Ali Khan speaks to Subhash K Jha about his new & not-so-new passions.

Q: After looking like a rock star, you look like a UP ka bhaiyya in Omkara.
A: I'm excited because it's an adaptation of Shakespeare and a really good adaptation of Othello. I feel this one is truer to Othello than Vishal's Maqbool was to Macbeth. Vishal turned Maqbool into a falling-in-love-with-the-boss's-wife kind of love story...albeit a marvelous married-to-the-mob take.

Q: You've studied Shakespeare in London ?
A: Yes. The language and look of Othello are familiar to me. And I like the way Vishal has transposed them to a local milieu. The biggest challenge for me in Omkara is the Uttar Pradesh milieu. It was enriching to shoot there. I hadn't been to Lucknow since my childhood. It's a slow-paced relaxed town with lovely food and lovely old houses.

Some of the old families know my family. I met a lot of family friends at Shaad Ali's wedding. The unfortunate part of being a movie star is that you get constant attention. This takes away from the pleasure of getting to know people. The atmosphere makes your selfconscious.

Q: Was it tough...and rough?
A: I knew it would be a rough shoot. But it was a bit of a conscious decision. I did it to remain balanced as an actor. Every film can't be shot in LA, man! All my work was going in only one direction and image. I needed something different like Omkara.

Q: But being familiar with Shakespeare...is that an advantage ?
A: Not really. Once you're into the script on-hand it doesn't really matter where it came from...only where the narration is going. I've done so many adaptations. I did Parineeta my own way.

I had never read Saratachandra's original. But in Othello, I was keen to go back to where Iago came from. He's the first literary psychopath. So the challenge was the milieu, look and character, and the thought of deglamorizing myself.

Q: Isn't the thought of a star deglamorizing himself a form of vanity?
A: If you think yellow teeth and a limp are vanity....I guess they are a kind of defiant vanity for an actor. I've played a villainous role in Ek Hasina Thi. That guy was far more glamorous and attractive.

That guy used his charms to seduce the girl. In Omkara my character uses other people's frailties and blind spots to his own advantage. He has no interaction with women. I'd say he's ...impotent.

Q: Is this the toughest role so far?
A: It required homework to get into a different language and body language. Everything I did so far and came naturally to me, was westernized. With a little bit of preparation and with Vishal's help and the whole atmosphere he creates, and also with the help of a cast that completely believes in the project, it was easy to find the truth about my duplicitous character.

Q: Is the black character helping you to connect with negative emotions?
A: It's not a very nice feeling. I can't wait to finish playing this guy. Even his look is repugnant. With the makeup, costume ...I'm okay.

But the haircut and the commitment to keep it short for the whole shoot...these have me freaked-out. I think Vishal and I need to do something even more large than life next time. Maybe Hamlet? I don't know... Shakespeare seems to be Vishal's forte.

Q: Why do you look so tense in public?
A: You mean the picture taken at Abhishek's birthday? I don't know....I was smiling quite a lot. Maybe I need to get my public face more in place...With all those miniature video cameras , shooting stars unawares is no longer a burden for the photographers. But I guess the paparazzi is comparatively okay over here.

Q: Life for you has been difficult in the past year.
A: It has been a big learning experience. The experiences in the past year have made me learn how to tell right from wrong. I've become calmer. I'd like to stay calm to do my kaam. I'm surer than ever that whatever has happened in my life happened for the best.

Q: Correct decisions don't come easily to you?
A: They don't. But I finally do what's right. I instinctively make the right choices in life, and then agonize over them. I live in a goldfish bowl. People around me affect me with their opinions. But at the end of it all I don't know what goes on in their heads, and they don't know how my mind works.

Though I'm sure everyone has his or her agony to deal with. But I wouldn't know what they feel. I recently read about some fan getting upset with Angelina Jolie for wrecking Brad Pitt's happy life. But how does anyone know about Brad's happiness...or mine?

Q: Do you have wacky obsessive fans?
A: No I don't. And that's the way it should be.

Q: Your daughter Sarah accompanies you to a lot public events.
A: She likes these events....the shows and the weddings for which she likes to dress up. I'd like her to be child-like and fun all my life. But she's growing up. She's quite clear about wanting to be an actress when she's older.

Q: You're repeatedly nominated for best actor this year...
A: Yeah, for Parineeta. That's refreshing. Earlier I'd be repeatedly nominated for best supporting actor or best actor in a comedy role. Now it's best actor. I'm glad. Though I knew Mr Bachchan will win all of them for Black. At least I was nominated with the best.