What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘hijack’?

Huge action.

Hijack is an action film and it is coming after Race and Tashan. How will that affect its performance?

Can’t say. You know how this industry works. I have seen two films on the same subject about the same character releasing in the same week, one has done well and the other hasn’t. It’s only about how you make a film and how the director tells the story.

So, what kind of action is there in the film?

Huge action! Jumping from helicopter, planes....

Your director Kunal Shivdasani says you insisted on doing your own stunts. Weren’t you scared?

I did so because then he could take the shots from the front. If someone else was doing the stunts, he could only take the shots from behind. Whenever I watch a film, it excites me more if I see the hero doing the stunt. You see it clearly then. Every time a double is doing it, either it’s a wide angle or a side angle. You don’t really enjoy it that much. It’s not just about doing a stunt, it’s also about feeling a situation and that only an actor can do.

How far can you go to be true to your character?

Anything under safety limits. I would want somebody else to do it before me. Somebody else has to do it; if he survives then I will do it — I am just joking (laughs)!

Did you undergo any special training for the film?

I didn’t undergo any sort of formal training. I did study planes a bit because I am playing the maintenance chief of an airport and he is supposed to know about planes. I love planes. As a kid, I wanted to be a pilot.

What was the most dangerous stunt you did?

There’s one scene where I was running and the chopper was supposed to come from behind me. For seven days I was suspended under that chopper, from the stands which are called skids. The first thing the pilot did was warn me that if the engine failed, he would have to land the chopper within four seconds and in those four seconds there wouldn’t be enough time to release me. The pilot said: “If anything goes wrong, we will be landing on top of you. It will be goodbye to you.”

I joked with him that it was comforting to know that at the outset. He said I should know as then I would be able to do whatever I could for myself if the situation arose.

He said that it had never happened in all the years he had been flying the chopper but I should know that it was a possibility. It’s not very unusual. Thankfully, my pilot was brilliant. I owe my life to him actually.

What was your wife’s reaction to this stunt?

I didn’t tell her.

But she must have come to know now?

Yes, but now she doesn’t have a choice. It’s already done!

Did you do this film because you are very good friends with Kunal, who is also the producer?

No, that might be one of the reasons but not the only reason. My main priority is only the script and nothing else. Kunal showed me some scripts in the beginning, which I didn’t like. When he came to me with this script, I found it interesting and that’s why I agreed to do Hijack.

Last year you had three releases — Metro, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Khoya Khoya Chand. Which one do you think you benefited the most from?

Besides Bhool Bhulaiyaa, all the films that I did last year were “thank you” films. I did Metro because I wanted to say “thank you” to Anurag Basu for Gangster. And with Khoya Khoya Chand I wanted to say “thank you” to Sudhir Mishra for Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. So Bhool Bhulaiyaa is the only film that I chose. The other films I was going to do irrespective of the script. I never read the script of Metro or Khoya Khoya Chand.

Did Bhool Bhulaiyaa do anything for you?

A lot. An actor is also a star and a commodity. So the more people who watch your films the more saleable you become; and you get more options to choose your films. When you are part of a big film which has been a big success, it makes a lot of difference.

Are you disappointed that Khoya Khoya Chand didn’t work at the box office? What do you think went wrong with it?

I can’t say. It was a good film. I don’t think it was that mainstream, which might be why the wider audience couldn’t connect with it.

What are your upcoming projects?

Har Pal is releasing next. Then I am doing Sudhir Mishra’s Aur Devdas at the end of the year. I am doing an untitled film on the biking industry with a film-maker from the south.

Aur Devdas is going to be your third film with Sudhir Mishra. He seems to be really fond of you.

Of course, he is a wonderful film-maker.

How will your Devdas be different?

I am very excited. It’s a modern-day Devdas, not a period Devdas.