You can?t miss him. He?s on all the satellite channels right now grooving to the beat of Salim-Sulaiman?s exciting and erotic Kaal kaal mein hum tum karen dhamaal.

When we tell Shah Rukh that Karan Johar says he has presented his best friend as a stud in the song, the megastar laughs shyly. ?Why do my friends keep on embarrassing me? I feel shy being talked about as a stud. Of course, I?ve taken my shirt off before, even in Swades. But that was in a different context. In Kaal, Karan couldn?t get a proper stud. So they made do with whatever they got.?

He brushes off the hot-and-happening ?item boy? image. Then adds seriously, ?It was great fun to shoot Kaal dhamaal especially since I got together with Malaika Arora after so long. We had done Chhaiyyan chhaiyyan in Dil Se long ago.?

Did he enjoy being steamy? ?I?m a little shy, shy of doing such stuff. By now I?m used to doing the song and dance so I?m fairly comfortable with that. But I must tell you I still find some of our dance movements a little strange. Sometimes I laugh through the movements. That?s the only way to make them believable.

?But I don?t think thrusting your pelvis into the camera is very sensuous. At least, for me it doesn?t send off the right kind of signals.?

So is Shah Rukh conservative about his dancing movements? ?Yes, a bit. I find subtle things more sensuous than the in-your-face kind of aggressive sexuality. I think Suraj hua madhyam in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... and Tujhe jo maine dekha in Main Hoon Na are very sensual?. As for being the ?item boy? in Kaal, I did it because Karan asked me to, I can?t say ?no? to a friend. Actually, I?ve never before done an item song. Even the one in Shakti with Aishwarya Rai had several scenes attached to it. In Kaal, it?s just a song that will come with the title.?

Speaking on Karan?s son-like dependence on Shah Rukh, the actor laughs, ?I think they all take my age too seriously. Both Farah Khan and Karan think of me as a father figure. It isn?t my wisdom. It?s just my clear-headedness about the things I do and say. I?ve had a fairly long experience in life, most of it is wonderful. They all get bored with my advice. But finally listen to what I?ve to say because many times I?ve proven right in my instincts. Yes, they do give me a lot of respect.?

He ponders over his proximity with the Johars and Chopras. ?I think we?re close because we don?t step on each other?s toes. And we all want the very best for all of us. We share a great equation. Our personal equations don?t clash with the professional. If I?m not in a film by Mr Yash Chopra I?m still there to help in every way possible. The same is true of them. The other day the screw of my camera magazine broke. I just called up Adi (Aditya Chopra) and he sent me, not one magazine but two, just in case. There?s a lot of love and trust among us. If the Chopras are making Dhoom 2, I wish it well, and offer to be in it as well. If I?m stressed I call up Karan or Adi and they reassure me that all?s well.?

He brushes off the observation that the Khan-Chopra-Johar group dominates the film industry. ?The power comes not from the fact that we?ve collaborated over a number of successful films but from our genuine comfort level. I?m more concerned about Dhoom 2 doing well than maybe even my own Paheli. And when the awards functions were on I genuinely believed Mr Yash Chopra should?ve got the awards for Veer-Zaara. Here?s a man who?s earned my love and respect through his work and as a human being and I wanted him to win over my own production, Main Hoon Na. And when he reciprocates I feel I?m part of a family. The Chopras, Johars and I are really, really wonderful friends. We?d have been as close even if we weren?t making films.?