After wooing critics and wowing masses as Munnabhai and being the only redeemable ?tez dhaar? in Musafir, Sanjay Dutt has suddenly gone serious. Playing the bespectacled thinker, Booker Prize-winning (sorry Salman Rushdie!) writer Shaukat, Sanju Baba is as much the USP of Leena Bajaj?s directorial debut Shabd as is Aishwarya Rai in her new sexy avatar. With the film opening well across the country on Friday, Dutt spoke to Pratim D. Gupta about his new look and role.

n You have made it a habit to work with close friends in the industry like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Mahesh Manjrekar and Sanjay Gupta. Why did you agree to do a film directed by a debutante like Leena?

Pritish Nandy, who produced the film, is a friend and is like a brother to me. I have worked with him earlier for Kaante. It has been my pleasure to work with him again in Shabd. He?s a great guy and his company PNC is a great production house to work for.

As for Leena, she is a truly brilliant director and I enjoyed every moment of Shabd, even though it was an exhausting role.

n The promos show a very different Sanjay Dutt. Is the image makeover a conscious move, trying to come out of your bhai self in Munnabhai MBBS and Musafir?

Every movie has its own compulsions. I look different in Shabd because I play a writer, a Booker Prize-winning author to be precise. You can?t expect me to sport the look of Musafir or Munnabhai in a film of this kind. Every role demands its own makeover. It is not a matter of choice. It is a matter of compulsion. As for me, I love this look. I?d love to stay with it for a while.

n Your role of Shaukat in the film is so different from anything you have done before. Did you draw any inspiration for the role of a writer? Did you do any homework?

No, I do not do any homework. I do not seek any inspirations. I have no role models. I always try and discover the role from the screenplay and then add my bit to it. Usually, that?s good enough. I think through my scenes on the sets.

n You had earlier worked with Aishwarya briefly for David Dhawan?s Hum Kisise Kum Nahin. How was the experience of working with her in Shabd?

Brilliant. She?s a terrific actress and I enjoyed every moment.

n There is a lot of talk about the bold scenes you have done with Ash in the film, especially the song Chaahaton ka silsila. Any awkward moments?

I did what was required of me in the film. We were playing husband and wife in Shabd. There?s bound to be passionate scenes between husband and wife in the privacy of their bedroom. What?s so special about it?

Shabd is not a sex film. It treats passion and sensuality with maturity and sensitivity. That?s why there was not a single censor cut. It is a mature film about mature people and mature relationships. There?s no sex for the sake of sex. Every scene in Shabd is important to the story and the screenplay. Even the passionate ones.

n What has been the response of the loyal Sanju Baba fan to your new avatar?

They have loved me.

n You have reprised your bhai act a lot of times. Will you do the same with Shabd?

Shabd was a unique experience, like Kaante. It is not easy to replicate it. I will treasure it, instead.