ARJUN RAMPAL

I am not metrosexual. I am not macho. I am normal. I don't even wear nail paint.

Who doesn't know about Bollywood? After all, we churn out movies in such great quantities every year! People across the globe know Shekhar Kapur.

I can bulk up very fast. I can lift heavy weights because, like most people, I started off with heavy workouts. That's stayed in my muscle memory. I feel horrible when I feel my jeans are getting tight. Workouts peace me out.

Going to religious places gives me clarity. When I am sitting there, I am in a state of gratitude with my defence mechanism down and am open to receiving that energy, that gives me clarity as at that time, you are listening to your heart. The heart shows you the direction in life. The mind exists only to execute your emotion.

I would be lying if I said I'm not flattered being voted as the 'Time's' Most Desirable Man of 2012. Frankly, I have no idea how the desirability quotient is arrived at. If it is just drop dead good looks, then I have to thank God and my parents for it.

I think it is easier for thinner people to build on a frame once you get lean muscle. I get bored lifting weights at the gym, and it isn't enough as your body becomes stiff. So I train in different ways such as core training, cardio with weights, playing sports such as tennis, cycling, swimming and running 10 km once a week.

Age doesn't mean anything. Its all in your head. Men get sexier with age. They also get wiser and get experienced.

If I'm sure of a person and his potential in politics, and if I know he will live up to his promises, I wouldn't mind campaigning for him. I believe in the dictum, 'never say never.' You never know, I might end up joining politics.

I am blessed with a good metabolism, and as long as I work out, carbs don't add to my weight. If I need a leaner, meaner look for a film, I go off carbs for a bit.

I think I'm close to lot of people in Bollywood, but I believe in evil eye, and I feel when I talk about friendships and relationships in public something somewhere goes wrong with it.

I like my films to have a certain amount of realism - something that's thought provoking and intelligently written. More than the amount on the pay cheque, I look for a level of respectability as an actor.

At times, I do Tabata, a high-intensity Japanese training regimen, in which I must do 20 seconds of a specific body part with 10 seconds of rest. This must be done eight times within four minutes. Your heart rate shoots through the roof, but you burn a lot of fat.

As a child, I had no idea that I would end up in the film industry. My ambitions changed from wanting to join the army like my grandfather to taking up merchant navy as a career to running for India, and finally, investment banking while I was a student of economics honour. But during my college days, I began to get offers for modelling.

I have not taken my good looks seriously from the beginning. When I would be teased by my friends about my looks, I would just make a self-deprecating remark and let it pass.

Physical attributes can make you appealing, but to keep the appeal going, one has to draw from within. You have to be a real person. Your fans and the people you associate with have to be able to see beyond your looks. You have to be a good friend, dutiful son and a good family man.

I do want my films to have the required entertainment quotient, but I'd prefer doing films where you don't have to leave your brains behind.

Your calves, biceps and neck should always be the same size in inches. Mine are 16 inches - anything bigger or smaller and you know you're going wrong! Most men ignore working out the legs and glutes, not realising that they are the pillars of our core.

I used to be an athlete and even ran the 400 metre stretch for Tamil Nadu. I have always been active.

Everybody can be desirable if they take care of themselves.

Almost 70 per cent of your fitness battle is won the day you realise what your body needs and when. I've made my own diets, and I decide for myself what works for me.

I know what it is to put on weight. But when I got back to my routine, my body knew how to react. That's muscle memory, and you'll be amazed at what it can do.

For me, what is most important is the element of surprise. If I can surprise you with every film of mine, that is exactly what I am trying to do.

Being fit helps me improve my concentration, my will power and even my determination.

I look at fitness as a necessity in the same way as how you drink water, eat food, one should look at fitness in a dedicated way. People will look fresh and happy. If you are happy, you in a way look fit.

The demarcation between an art house film and an entertainer has blurred, only because a larger section of the audience has accepted such realistic films.