By Subhash K. Jha, IANS

Bollywood dude John Abraham has girls drooling over him, but the one woman he finds "really, really pretty" is his "Baabul" co-star Hema Malini's beauty who he says is still the "the Dream Girl".

"During 'Baabul' if I had shot one more day with her I'd have fallen in love with her. She's really, really pretty," confesses John.

"Hema Malini is either black or white. She always tells you like it is. That's so rare in this industry where people often say one thing, and mean another."

As for Amitabh Bachchan, John has piles of compliments to heap on his professionalism.

"But forget about his work ethics. More importantly, he's a nice man. When we meet he makes me feel so comfortable. He exudes a positive energy. I always felt safe in his shadow when I made my debut with him in 'Aetbaar'. Nothing had changed in 'Baabul'."

But John's best compliments are reserved for Rani Mukherjee.

"I learnt a lot from her. Rani exudes a lot of confidence. Needless to say she's an amazing actress. Working with her and Mr. Bachchan automatically raised the level of my performance.

"I need such support. People forget I'm still so new... only three years in the industry. I'm far behind the rest of my contemporaries."

After "Baabul", John has a totally antithetical release, "Kabul Express".

"'Baabul is my first masala film. Newcomers generally do conventional films and then go on to the unconventional. I took the opposite route. I first did 'Jism' and 'Saaya' and then came to 'Baabul'. After that I'm again back to being completely unorthodox in 'Kabul Express'. I'm back at the lunatic fringes in 'Kabul'."

But John is equally confident about both his releases.

"'Kabul Express has been tried before audiences in Toronto and the US. Now I'm very confident about it. I'm sure it will go down well with our audiences. Everyone know the politics of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and how we feel about Americans."

From the socially relevant 'Baabul' to political parable 'Kabul Express', that's a long journey to make!

John chortles. "People think my choices are crazy. They wonder if I've lost my marbles risking my life in 'Baabul'. Well, all I've to say is, I prefer riding bikes instead of cars.

"I love life on the edge. I love taking risks. I'm very secure about my space in the cinema. I've made my choices and I've stuck by my directors through thick and thin."

John is now excited about Nagesh Kukunoor's "Ashaayen".

"It's so beautiful! My role requires plenty of preparation. Actually, there're two kinds of preparations. One is the big-spectacle preparation where one prepares for the action and dance scenes like 'Dhoom' or 'Cash'. The other kind of preparation is my kind.

"For my roles I've started preparing for those little nuances that add something almost invisible to the role. There're the larger-than-life roles and the life-size roles. I believe in the life-size preparations."