Veteran actor Vinod Khanna is back to the grind. He waxes eloquent on many subjects in his first ever interview to the media (that is after his long hiatus) and is gung ho about his forthcoming film RISK directed by Vishram Sawant.

Glamsham caught up with the MP-actor on the sets of RISK where he is half way through 'In The Line Of Fire- President Musharraf'. He talks to the media about his comeback, his forthcoming films, politics, his take on remakes and a lot more....

Camera always excited me...
I'm glad I got a chance to essay a variety of roles in my career. I am working after a very long time and my role in RISK is very challenging. I guess today there aren't many roles written for people belonging to our age group. Hopefully if I get good meaty roles, I am even ready to take up a negative role. It has to be challenging enough to motivate me. Today by grace of my Guru Osho, there's a lot of happiness, peace and contentment within me. I was always confident about my decisions and deep down I knew I made the right moves. I'd like to direct and produce films someday but I want to settle down as an actor first. The entire ambiance of light-camera-action always fascinated me.

RISK is my comeback film...
RISK is a thriller with a family backdrop staring Randeep Hooda, Tanushree Dutta and me in pivotal roles. It is the story of an honest, righteous cop played by Randeep and a gangster played by me. I am this underworld don Khalid who has many shades to his character. He has his own set of principles and own ways of functioning. 'Survival' is the most important thing to him. He is a compassionate man who looks after his people, does charity and has grey shades to him as well. He speaks in the Mumbaiya Urdu dialect. I have thoroughly enjoyed this role. RISK will launch me back. It's a realistic film and I'm very confident about my role in the film. There's no Gangsters moll involved in this film and my character is somehow very unique. You won't see me wearing suites and headgears. I've enjoyed this role to the fullest.

RISK is just the apt title...
I think RISK is just the apt title for this film. It is an over used typical word these days. It's more like a Hindi word now. Everyone involved in the film takes risks and hence it's called RISK. This is a word that everyone understands today. Director Vishram has done a commendable job. He is very creative and clear in his mind. He knows what he wants and the way he has moulded everyone's character is just amazing. Very few directors can do something in this kind of a screenplay. There are no songs or dances in the film.

I'd love to do a mature love story...
After RISK I have one more film coming up. It will be directed by Hriday Shetty and stars Arbaaz Khan, Hrishita Bhatt, Amrita Arora and Preeti Jangiani. Even this one is an underworld film, but a different kind of an underworld flick. Apart from this I also have 2 other films lined up. There's another film with my sons Rahul and Akshaye to be directed by Vikram Bhatt. It's still in the scripting stage. I'd also like to do a good mature love story of an old couple.

AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY can be remade...
I don't watch many films though I've enjoyed watching DIL CHAHTA HAI, SARKAR, BLACK, RANG DE BASANTI etc. There are many films being remade these days. I think there's a dearth of scripts and we need to encourage more script writers. Nonetheless films like AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY, MERE APNE and IMTIHAAN can be remade. AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY was a fun film and was very contemporary in those times, so there's no harm in remaking it. I'd love to see the freshness and novelty in remakes, introduced by directors today.

I left Akshaye after his first film...
I've never been pushy or aggressive as a father. Every child has his/her own intelligence; they just need that right guidance. There's no need to be after them constantly and tell them what they are supposed to do. I never let that happen to me. I told my dad that I didn't want to become a businessman like him. I knew I wanted to become an actor. I left Akshaye after his very first film. He was on his own after that.

I want to focus on my filmi career...
People didn't see much of me since I got involved in politics. Politics is social service and paying attention to one's constituency. One cannot pursue any other profession as a minister, but as an MP I am allowed to work. So I now have the time and permission to work. I want to focus on my filmi career now. I want to concentrate on acting. No one knows I'm back to work. This is my first media interview after I decided to come back.

I'm attached to South Mumbai...
I grew up with my close friends in South Mumbai. So I'm very attached to that place and other places like Worli seaface, Marine Drive, Metro cinema etc. I couldn't live in suburbs though it's not like I dislike it or anything. I even bought 2 bungalows in Juhu and Pali hill. I like the energy of suburbs but I hate the traffic out there.

Whether it's AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY, QURBANI or DAYAVAAN (to name a few) Vinod Khanna is all set to recreate the magic of yore. We all are eagerly looking forward to his second innings in Bollywood.