I am a little unprofessional

Many headlines later, Salman Khan and girlfriend Katrina Kaif are now back together… in a film. After doing "Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya" and "Partner" together, the two lovebirds parted ways professionally for a while and pursued films with other stars. Even as Salman romanced an assortment of actresses, Kat gave hit after hit with Akshay Kumar and others. With "Yuvvraaj", they're returning as a couple on-screen.

Understandably, both Katrina and Salman are pretty excited with the project. "This is the third time I have worked with Katrina. We earlier did 'Partner' and 'Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya', both of which were comedies but we weren't paired with each other. She was opposite Govinda and Sohail Khan. But in 'Yuvraaj', she's been paired with me," says Salman.

The two had good fun working on the project, not only because of the rapport they share with each other but also with director Subhash Ghai and co-star Anil Kapoor. The promos look good, the posters are attention-grabbing and the music of "Yuvvraaj" too is scintillating. In fact, lately, most of the films Salman has done have had hit music, whether they themselves were hits or not.

What's Salman's newfound connection with music all about? "I don't know. I can't sing, nor can I dance too well. Guess I'm just lucky my films have good music," says the original muscleman of Bollywood.

His choice of music in his own time is retro, jazz, '60s , '70s and '80s rock and roll music and even soft rock. No time for Bollywood music, we guess.

More than working with Katrina, it's coming together with Subhash Ghai that's made "Yuvvraaj" special for Salman. Some years ago, the two had a spat that ended with the actor landing a slap on the producer-director's face. A lot of acrimony followed but the two have since kissed and made up.

"I was a little nervous because this is the first time I am working with Subhash. I am a good worker but I am a little unprofessional," is Salman's surprise confession.

Now that they've called a truce, he's willing to do whatever Subhash Ghai tells him to. Including promoting his film on reality shows. "Wherever Subhash tells me to go, I will." Though he will, Salman is not in favour of overdoing the promotion bit. "Audiences can tell in the first promo only whether the film is good or bad. I don't understand promoting a film so much. I feel it's overexposing the film," he says.

After "Yuvvraaj", Salman has "Veer" coming up. The actor, who is also a painter, has turned a writer with this. Following in the footsteps of his scriptwriter daddy Salim, he's penned the story for "Veer".

"Writing is in my genes. 'Veer' revolves around a father and a son. It's about a son who is ready to give up his life to keep his father's words. But that's not too relevant in today's times so the story had to be set in the 18th century," he elaborates.

Parallels are being drawn between "Gladiator" and "Veer", but Salman denies it has anything to do with the Hollywood film. "It's an original script."

What is not always original is the role Salman plays regularly. Okay, so he's seen as a Bollywood brat. But why does he take up bratty roles on screen too? "Because I can do only a few roles. I can do action, I can do romance, I can do comedy, I can do drama, I can do intense roles, I can play a guy who gets beaten up, I can beat people up. So, I am very limited with these concerns," is his simple reply.

One role that's suited him best is that of a He-Man. Lately, however, a number of actors, including Shah Rukh Khan and even chocolate boy Aamir Khan, are building up six-packs. Aamir is the latest entrant to the beefed-up bod club. What does the original six-pack king feel about that? "I liked Aamir's body. I liked his posters. He has worked out a lot and that's showing."

No jealousy here. But that's Salman for you. A simple man caught in a bad image.