SHAHID KAPOOR

When you are seeing somebody, then obviously it's a commitment. And if you don't want to commit, then don't be in a relationship. Every relationship deserves a certain credibility and respectability. For me, it's always been like that.

As an actor, you tend to live in a really small world, which is not very healthy. It is enriching to go to new places, meet different people know and learn about things which you didn't know about.

I've been sexy for a while. Ever since I crossed 30, women have started taking me seriously.

Films are not mathematics - that's the first thing you need to understand. At least, that's how I feel. They are not words on paper. Films are made with people, with teams and with individual bundles of creativity coming together to fulfill the vision of an individual who is the director of the film.

I used to be in my own world and keep to myself all the time, so there may have been a perception about my reserved demeanour that was misconstrued as arrogance. But when people interact with you, then they know the real you.

Eventually, the most important thing is success. I want to achieve a lot of success. It doesn't feel good when your film doesn't do well, and yet you are appreciated... everybody should succeed.

While I believe in marriage as an institution, I am also petrified of it.

I am a Piscean, and they have a lovingly detached attitude towards life.

Personally, having an eight-pack is a high, but professionally, I cannot be obsessed with it. I'm an actor, not a body builder.

People may have found it difficult to approach me, and I realised it and have worked on it. I used to be socially shy. Now I have become a social animal. I go out, meet and interact with people.

I cannot do a film I don't believe in, however safe it might be.

I don't have a regular happy family like most people. My parents are separated; my dad married someone else and so did my mom. All my siblings are from my parents' other marriages. So yes, it is complicated, and I don't like talking about it or explaining this to everybody. But all this doesn't stop us from being close to each other.

I know I have a reputation that is not so flattering, but I guess I owe it to just being a private person. I don't mean anyone harm, and I'm not being mean. I just don't socialise much; I don't party too much. I don't know what to say to the media if I'm not talking about a film that I am doing, so yeah, maybe I am perceived as a snob.

Now, no matter what background you come from, there is nobody in this world who can say that their life is without troubles. Everybody faces problems at some point in their life. All that matters is how you deal with it.

I am a good boy. Sweet. I love to chill. I have a select set of friends, am big on house music, love Goa. I don't read much. Though that is one habit I am trying to inculcate.

I am very passionate about what I do; I give it 200 percent, and I don't think it will ever change. But I've realised that, as an actor, you have to give it your best and let it go. That's the most difficult journey, and it comes with time.

Attachment is your biggest strength and your biggest weakness. Though it gives you the power to love someone more than yourself, it becomes difficult to live when you lose something you are attached to. Even when we have lost, we should go beyond that and get truly attached to someone. Loving someone truly is the most beautiful feeling.

I don't see any of my colleagues as rivals. I don't think our generation needs to do that. We are a chilled out lot, and we should all be happy.

During my school and college days, the three Khans - Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh - were superstars for me and will always be. Their movies were eagerly awaited every Friday.

When I don't have a girlfriend, who I am answerable to, I can go out and hang with people. But whether you go for a movie with someone or a meal or a drive, it is assumed that you are dating that person.

Relationships are beautiful, and it's wonderful to find someone you can spend time with and share your life with. But there's also a lot of pressure attached to that. And I think you can't be in a relationship until you have discovered yourself fully.

I agree when others say I am underrated as an actor... When you give super-hit films, then only you are considered as a good actor. At least, that is how it is there in our industry. I think you need to be successful to be appreciated.

I don't think there's anybody in this world who should be required to make you feel good about yourself. Be happy on your own.

I thought I was okay in my first film, and then I was really, really bad in some films. I really cringe when I see some of my scenes. There's a scene in one film where a dog is biting me; the expressions I have made should be qualified as the most over-acted scene in the history of the cinema. The dog's expressions were more real than mine.

Indian cinema gives you everything that western cinema doesn't. It's maseladar and spicy. If you like Indian food, I think you'll love Indian movies.