Just recently, he was seen on the big screen in the fantasy adventure, Drona, a film that Abhishek Bachchan has since analysed and of which he has understood the weaknesses.

But life moves on and he is bouncing back with Dharma Productions’ Dostana, directed by Tarun Mansukhani and co-starring John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra.

Abhishek Bachchan took a break from his shooting in Kerala for Mani Ratnam’s film in which he stars along with his wife, Aishwarya, to pop back to Bombay and talk about the many Ds in his life: Dostana, Drona and Dilli 6.

Although in the promo of DOSTANA, John says you are his boyfriend, in reality, John says that you are his girlfriend. What do you say?

He wishes! He is the girl. Actually, we are just happy being with each other throughout the film.

Did you enjoy camping it up?
Only one sequence in the film is over the top. In fact, the film is not about homosexuality. It is about three friends and we are two straight guys pretending to be gay. For most of the film, we didn’t want our act to be about putting on make-up, bright clothes, bending our hands and saying ‘Oh my God’ in a clichéd way. The gay topic is very tired now – the film is not about that. Dostana is a fun-loving, young and urban film about three friends out of which the two guys pretend to be gay in order to rent an apart­ment and then both end up falling in love with the same girl.

How does John com­pare to your other ‘leading ladies’?
John is the best leading lady, by far. He has raised the bar by miles. The others have a very tough act to follow.

How comfortable was it playing the pretend scenes with John? He credits you with ensuring there was no awkwardness.
I was determined that there should not be any awkwardness on set. John and I spent a long time discussing our scenes and characters and figured out that we just had to jump right in. We couldn’t be nimble-footed but had to be full of confidence, and we had a blast. It helped that John and I are good friends, and eventually, everyone is working for the greater good of the film.

While Priyanka and John have exciting beachwear and show off a fit physique, you re­main fully clothed. Com­ment.
Oh, I loved the clothes Aki Narula made for me. They were so cool. I loved the summer scarves, cargo pants and jeans. In fact, John kept saying he wanted to wear some of them, to which I replied, ‘Buddy, you get the underwear’. I play Sam, a nurse, so I would naturally dress the part. John plays a photographer who spends a lot of time shooting on the beach, so it is more app­ropriate for him to be in trunks.

Would you consider playing a truly gay character in an Indian film?
Everyone has asked me this question and I would certainly be open to it if the script is good and the director is someone who would be able to handle the subject with sensitivity. If a correct film was made with the right intention, and the script was written accordingly, such a film might just work in India. There is still a strong social stigma against homosexuality in India but I think people will change, as will the laws, and become more accepting over time.

How did you feel after the reviews and reactions to DRONA came out?
I was devastated, disheartened, demoralised. I realise that Drona needed much greater attention to screenplay. Drona didn’t end up doing anything. After the scene when he is being chased by the hooded army and he lifts the gate, he should have realised his strength and the film should have moved at a different pace. But he remained a reluctant hero and the audience does not want to see someone frown throughout. Drona had to become a leader.

Later, I re­conciled myself to accepting my mistakes and moving on. You have to work hard, with sincerity. Working in movies is like being in a boxing ring – you go in and take the blows on the chin; you take a break between rounds and when the bell rings, you re-enter the ring for another round. For me, Dostana is as important as Drona – each film is equally important.

DOSTANA is a comedy but you haven’t done too many comedies. Why is that?
It’s true, but that’s because no one offers me comic roles; they just offer me the grumpy ones.

What’s next for you?
My next release will be Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6 which I really enjoyed doing. I love the film. It has a very unique script and screenplay. I am currently working on Mani Rat­nam’s film which will be followed by Rohan Sippy’s next project, Rakeysh Mehra’s Paanch Kaurav and Pa.

You are looking extremely trim and fit now.
Yes, I had to put on a lot of weight for Mani’s Guru where I had to look portly and settled. Then, I had to keep some of that weight for Sarkar Raj where I also had to look heavier set. While everyone else was working on getting a sixpack ab, I was working on getting one pack! But now, I have lost 14 kgs. and am back to my weight from my Bunty Aur Babli days.