When you have production house like Aamir Khan's and people like Aamir, Mansoor Khan, Kiran Rao and Sreenivas Rao supporting you, the only struggle you face is if you can do a good job. Everything else is possible.

Were you ever scared that your project may be taken away from you like Amole Gupte's Taare Zameen Par?

I think Aamir was more scared than me. Contrary to what a lot of people would like to believe, Aamir is not the kind of producer, who is looking for weak directors, whom he can replace or interfere with. As a producer, he wants a strong director, who can handle the project. Otherwise, why would he produce the film?

When the problem happened with TZP and when he had to take over as director, he became very nervous because he wondered if I would be good enough. He didn't want to break my heart later and tell me that the project was off. So he asked me to do a test shoot. I had to shoot three scenes and show him, and prove myself to him.

So I shot the three scenes, he saw them, and never ever questioned my credentials again.

What made you cast Imran Khan?

Imran was cast in the film even before Aamir came into the picture. He was cast when Jhamu Sughand was the producer. He is exactly what we wanted. When you see the film and see his character -- a gentle lovable boy-next-door, who is friends with his mother, who hates violence, who is funny and crazy -- you meet Imran. The only difference is that he is shy, and his character, Jay, isn't.

Is Imran similar to Aamir in any way?

Yes, he is. The biggest similarity between them is that the script and character are far more important to them, than being projected as a star.

On camera, he is distinctive; he has his own style. But once in a while, in a particular angle or shot, he'll suddenly look like Aamir.

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