'My grandmother wore Geeta Bali's sari for her wedding'

This year's most sensational debut has been that of Imran Khan. From being Aamir Khan's nephew to becoming a star in his own right, Imran established himself rather fast.

His debut movie, “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na” was a super-success and “Kidnap” promises to follow suit.

Imran's moves seem pretty smooth. To avoid being stereotyped as a chocolate hero, he's taken on a different role with his second film itself. In his latest film, he's up against none other than veteran actor Sanjay Dutt and that too in a negative role.

When you meet him, the first thing that hits you is how much he is like uncle Aamir. He has the same boyish charm that made Aamir the heartthrob of the nation when “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak” hit the screens. And Imran's also a perfectionist like his uncle, trying to sink his teeth deep into each character he plays.

In a chat, Imran reveals more about himself…

Why are you sporting a beard these days?

Not only a beard, I'll be growing my hair long too. This look is for my new film ‘Delhi Belly’. I have just flown in from Delhi, where we were shooting at Karol Bagh. The film is being directed by Abhinay Deol and the female lead hasn't been finalised yet.

Is Delhi Belly a sex comedy? We hear Aamir is doing a negative cameo in the film. Is that true?

It is too soon to talk about the film.

You're just one film old but you're already experimenting with new looks and roles. Is your uncle your advisor?

In ‘Kidnap’, I have a negative role. It was quite a challenging role. When I was given the script, I showed it to Aamir and he told me Sanjay Gadhvi is a very good director. However, he did not tell me to take or not take it. I took it up because I had a good feeling about it.

I play this character Kabir and you won't know anything about him in the first half. He has shades of grey. I have worked hard on my role. I did many rehearsals with Sanjay and Minissha Lamba. I am hoping my look will surprise the audiences.

We hear that you have trained in martial arts for the film too. And you wanted to do your own stunts. True?

Yes, I used to train for six to seven hours with our trainer Dean. I knew he was paid a lot daily and I didn't want to disappoint my director. I learnt as much as I could from Dean and made sure I justified his fees (laughs). I have done most of the stunts. But the riskier ones were done by a body double.

You have done Kidnap with Sanjay Dutt. How easy or difficult was it to share screen space with such an experienced actor?

I was very scared of him. He has this tough, macho man image and I had action scenes with him. But Sanjay realised my fear and approached me. He gave me a lot of support and also checked if I had rehearsed my lines well or not.

But you do like challenges, right?

Yes I do. I get bored easily and often look for challenges. I need excitement. I will experiment and try to do roles of different kinds and genres. I know people will compare me with Aamir and that makes me nervous. I do worry whether people will like my roles or not. But at the same time, that worry keeps me on my toes and helps bring out the best in me.

You belong to a very creative family. Whose work do you like best?

Aamir is not the only person in my family who is extremely creative and hard-working. My grandfather Nasir Hussain also started from scratch when he came to Mumbai and entered Bollywood. He didn't know anyone here and yet, he made it big. He has only himself to thank for the name he has earned. I think we can give him all the credit for what we are today.

In fact, I remember this incident discussed in the family. When he came here, he started as an assistant director. He was also doing some writing. Later, my grandfather married a dancer but he didn't even have money to buy her a sari. Do you know whose sari he borrowed for the wedding? It was Geeta Bali's sari that my grandmother wore for the ceremony. And see where he is today. I respect my grandfather a lot and I am grateful to him for giving us these opportunities.