Tusshar Kapoor is cute. He's shy. He's very much the boy-next-door. And he makes his debut opposite Kareena in Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, many years after Kareena's mom Babita made her debut opposite Jeetendra in Farz. Here's Tusshar...

Growing up

As a child I was very shy. I studied at Bombay Scottish. I was a little sloppy and a bit fat. I used to take part in some extra-curricular activities, but that's it. I was intelligent, I can't be modest about that!

I used to visit Dad on his shoots in Chennai and Hyderabad every weekend. I was maha kicked about the idea of doing the role of a kid in "Ek Hi Bhool", where my dad starred with Rekha, my favourite actress. My mom didn't allow me to do it. Now I'm like, 'Goddammit, mom. Why didn't you let me? What do you think of yourself?' (Laughs)

Family fortunes

Mom and I are very close. She's been my guide, my support system, and we're like a team. We don't involve Dad in many of our day-to-day things. Mom is involved with every little thing my sister and I do. I can use any kind of language with her, be completely open and discuss my likes and dislikes. She's the one who keeps tabs on us. It's probably because Dad was always busy shooting, and I've spent more time with mom.

Now, a new line of communication has opened up with Dad. I can tell him what happened on the sets, he relates to it. He tells me stuff, but he's from a different time in films, so I'm the best judge of what's right and what's not. We discuss things, but ultimately, it's my decision.

I think father and son develop a special bond, once the son is 21 or so. Daughters, on the other hand, have that special bonding with their fathers from an early age. My sister is like, 'Dad, you are mine, and nobody else's' and dad reciprocates that. Mom always made sure, though, that we spent as much time with dad as possible. We used to talk to him over the phone every day, go out for a month's holiday every year, and that was a really good time for us.

Sister act

My sister Ekta is a year-and-a-half older than I. We used to fight a lot, literally beat each other up. But now that we're in the same line, have so much in common, are together so much, we've become friends.

We're all proud of my sister, since she's proved herself at such a young age. I really like her programmes, whenever I see them on TV. I like watching Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which she produces. It's a typical housewife kind of thing, but I like watching it, it's got a lot of good scenes and tracks in it. I like the occasional punches. Now that she has her own office and works with young people, with creative minds, she's really got it under control. In fact, she and my dad are making this film for me next, which should be really cool for me.

Kareena Kapoor

I've known Kareena since we were kids. I first met her in '88 in Kashmir. My dad was shooting with Rekha and Chintu Uncle (Rishi Kapoor) for Sheshnaag. She'd come visiting Chintu Uncle and she was such a brat, and such fun to be around. She was a lot younger, and so small. She was like, 'I wanna be an actress.' Then when I'd say, good, she'd turn around and say, 'Nooooo! I wanna be a lawyer.' She was cute, funny and so vibrant, she'd always keep you guessing.

We'd bump into each other once in a while, and we knew what was going on in each other's life. I met her at a ciné artistes show in '93, then I met her again in Michigan with Karisma. It was at my campus that Karisma performed and I went backstage to meet them. She was studying in Boston then and had signed Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. She teased me about when I was joining films. And how my father and her mother did a film together, and she asked me about our own screen jodi. She's quite gutsy, very vivacious. She is totally professional in front of the camera, very relaxed during shooting, and she helped me a lot with my scenes. She's a cool person and co-star.

On himself

I'm not too much of a family person. Especially since I've lived abroad, I'm a bit of a loner, and independent. I love being with friends. I love my family, but I need space. I can be on a long outdoor and not feel terribly homesick. They're there for me, and vice versa, but we're all our own people.

By myself, I watch a lot of TV, talk on the phone, work out a lot, play squash, get on the computer. When I was abroad, if I were free, and my friends were not, I've gone and watched films on my own. I didn't feel bored at all. I want to be by myself, go and do things by myself.

I do think a lot, introspection about my work, life, everything. I think about my day, how it's gone, what I could've done better-that's my attitude. I talk to myself. I've become serious about my priorities, but I totally enjoy what I do. I don't do anything unless I enjoy it. I'll never push myself. When I was in school, I often felt I was working hard, but not enjoying myself. It was more like drudgery, I was doing it well, but I was not doing it from my heart.

I may loll around and be a bit dull at times, or at least I give that impression to people. But I conserve all of it for the camera. Then I really go all out and give it all I've got. It's a strange kind of thrill. People ask me, 'When you're at parties, why don't you dance? In films you have to dance a lot.' I enjoy dancing, but I do it when I really feel like it. When it's work, there's something about the camera that makes me come alive.

I'm open to people to whom I'm close-I should be in a mood to chill out, and then I'm chirpy. I don't have incessant mood shifts. But if I'm in a bad mood, I'm like that for months. Generally, I am subdued, but I know how to have fun, I'm not boring!

On... er... relationships

I've been in a couple of relationships, but couldn't maintain them when I went abroad. Romance is the thing that keeps love going, but what I enjoy in a relationship is compatibility, the jokes and humour. I'm not the kind who'd go up to a girl and start talking. I wouldn't want to come across as hard up for women or something! Once in a while I do it, but I don't push it.

There is no stereotype in my mind about the kind of girl I like. But I don't like girls with short hair, I like long flowing hair. But who knows? What if I meet a goodlooking girl with short hair? I don't like girls who blabber on and on, I don't like girls who like to talk about themselves all the time. I like girls who can converse intelligently, who have a lot of thoughts and ideas, and a keen, introspective mind. Ideally, I would want a girl who'd have something in common with me professionally, understand my temperament and my work. If I'm going through an awkward phase in life, I should be able to talk to her about it.

Faves

I used to be a great fan of Rekha. Then there's Julia Roberts, whom I adore. And Michelle Pfeiffer and Elizabeth Taylor, women with an aura of mystery about them.

When I was growing up there was a phase when Rekha did most of the movies with my dad. You know, the typical family dramas. She was the wife, and my father, the husband. I used to be quite happy to watch her with my dad in all his films, like quite the done thing, like a daily thaali. Then when I saw Himmatwala, with dad and Sridevi, I was like, 'Who is she? We don't want her to be playing my dad's wife, she's so... eeeee!' I was a die-hard Rekha loyalist; in fact, it was my sister who was a big Sridevi fan. From day one, she was like, 'Sridevi is my kind of idol.'

On Acting

I did business schooling for two years, and then I worked for a year in Michigan, Detroit as a finance guy; it was a small company, very informal. We had a lot of fun, but that's when I also decided that it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted something more creative in life, and crunching numbers really got to me.

Subconsciously, since childhood I had a liking for acting. I'd seen my dad acting all the time, and I'd wondered how it would be to be an actor. So, I came back and started working for David Dhawan as an assistant director, to learn the craft of cinema at close range. I was happy doing my thing, but it was hardly four months before I was offered this role. It was much earlier than I expected, I'd thought that I would learn the ropes, and gradually do a film. But Vashu Bhagnani and Satish Kaushik met me and they told me it was me they wanted! They didn't want someone tried and tested, they wanted somebody new. I heard the script and I was totally flabbergasted by the intensity and depth of the film. So, I immediately went ahead with my decision. ¨