Amrita Rao is bit raw but good

Except for one detail Akshaye is having a ball shooting for Neeraj Vora’s Shortcut in Bangkok.

"I need a quick break to visit Mumbai. I’m homesick. If I get a break of 2-3 days I’ll go back. So far we’ve get only one day off every ten days. That isn’t enough to dash in and dash out."

Basking in the blockbuster opening of his new film Race Akshaye is shooting Shortcut with director Neeraj Vora. "He wrote all my films for Priyadarshan. So I know Neeraj very well. I’m thoroughly enjoying myself."

Akshaye plays a director while Arshad Warsi plays a ’bad’ actor. Yet another flick set in the film industry! Amrita Rao is Akshaye’s co-star in Shortcut.

"She’s a very sweet decent girl Though raw she’s a good actress. She’s now coming into her own, " gushes Akshaye as he does about all his co-stars. "I really enjoy working with my actors, male or female. I like being with them. Bouncing off ideas."

He’s reluctant to talk about Shortcut but reveals, "The film has a lot of theatre actors. It’s a character-based energetic film. I like doing energetic films.

In Race I worked on investing a gusto to my character. That’s why I enjoy working with Abbas-Mustan. They give me the freedom to make the best use of my space as an actor.

They’ve tremendous trust in me. Somehow they like 9 out of my 10 suggestions. They allow me to improvise quite a lot."

What about the rapport with his co-stars? "Race isn’t the first multi-starrer I’ve done. It’s never easy to find proper space for all the actors in a cluttered cast. It takes people like Abbas-Mustan to come up with a script that justifies everyone’s presence. "

Akshaye was more than happy to be re-united with Saif. "Anil of course is very close to me. Saif and I had a fantastic time during Dil Chahta Hai. And let’s not forget Saif and I also spent a lot of time together during J.P.Dutta’s LOC.

In Dil Chahta Hai we were buddies. In Race we’re brothers but battling constantly. But I had never worked with all the three girls-Bipasha, Katrina and Sameera. They’re all so wonderful. They’re looking smashing. Anaita Adjania has really dressed us up well."

Akshaye’s next release would be a Priyadarshan comedy Mere Baap Pehle Aap. "I’m in it with Paresh Rawal. It’s one of those films that will put a smile on everyone’s face.

And my co-star Genelia D’Souza is the absolutely correct choice."