Your predictions for the World Cup…

I’m going to be biased towards Messi. Argentina is my favourite though I don’t have full confidence that they can take it. So my second pick would be France. 

My third choice would be Germany, and my fourth would be Spain though their match with Portugal was quite nail-biting, and Ronaldo showed some real magic. I’m also excited about Belgium and Uruguay. It’s just started, you have to see every team play once to understand how they play. You could also get a new surprise like Iceland surprised us in Euro 2016. I feel one or two teams from the African continent will definitely step up. 

Do you have a football-watching ritual?

I don’t have a ritual, but I do have a set of friends who I watch with. There’s Binoy Gandhi, my childhood friend, and Ishan Kapoor. Sometimes, there’s another friend, Rohit Dhawan, who joins us.

What about snacks, drinks... that kind of stuff?

It depends. If I’m shooting I can’t be drinking though it’s always good to have a beer or two. 

Your favourite football teams?

FC Barcelona, and Mumbai City FC, which I own.

Your best performance on the field?

I think the first time we played the Indian cricket team. That’s always fun, because it’s always such a competitive game. You’re playing the “Indian” cricket team, so we always take it very seriously. And at the AFSC (All Stars Football Club), the team I play for, we always take ourselves really seriously as well. We have Abhishek Bachchan who is our player-cum-coach-cum-captain, who’s really so passionate. We have some amazing players in Shabbir Ahluwalia, Dino Morea, Shoojit Sircar, Leander Paes, Karan Wahi, Arjun Kapoor... so many of us. And we treat ourselves like we’re this formidable football team though we are quite average. But we’ve been winning games, and it’s always awesome fun to play with them.

Your favourite live match experience?

I have the good fortune of being the goodwill brand ambassador for Barcelona, so I end up going for the El Clasicos; I’ve seen four in Barcelona and two in Madrid. My best experience though was the Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United at Wembley, where they won 3-1. It was quite outstanding to see that game live. I was sitting with the players’ families, I was alone and it was quite a surreal experience for me because I just felt like a part of the Barcelona family.

When did you fall in love with the sport?

I was below average in everything in school, and I think football was the only thing that I was good at. The first time my name came in the newspaper was when I scored a goal for the Bombay Scottish team and my mom (Neetu Singh) still has a cutting and she’s kept it. So, it was the first time I felt I was decent at something and you get attached to it.

Are there any chances of you going to watch any of the matches this year?

I really wanted to and I had an invitation too. But I’m going to be in Bulgaria for two months to shoot Brahmastra. So, I’ll be watching it on TV and supporting my team.

Last World Cup when the team you were rooting for won?

When Italy won. I was much younger then, so I didn’t really understand the value of it but I knew I really liked Italy. Roberto Baggio had played in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and I was a big fan of his. I remember his legendary missed penalty.

Best football player in Bollywood?

I believe Tiger (Shroff) is very good, but I haven’t seen him play. I would like to rate myself as pretty good too.