Abhinav Shukla

I am not an ambitious guy, I have a very laidback attitude; money for me is less important than self-respect and ideals.

Women are the reason why mankind exists. Let's give them their due.

My style probably makes me look like a foreign-return guy.

Biking and photography are a perfect combination for me.

However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting too adventurous and concentrate on less dangerous passions.

I celebrate Holi each year with Rubina and our friends.

My father was a scientist and his colleagues were into pathology and microbiology, and study of viruses and how it spreads and mutates, so I understand the beauty with which nature works and more beautifully how our immune systems work.

Our short film 'Bareilly Ki Beti' is inspired from the incident which occurred in Bareilly, where a couple while digging a grave for their stillborn found a live baby girl buried two to three feet down. She was rushed to the hospital and she survived.

I was very clear that I won't get married until I find the person I can be myself with and Rubina are just that.

Rubina and I have been together since so long, and she understands me completely.

If you ask me, we actors have this amazing ability to detach ourselves from an emotion and just do it for the camera.

We do a lot of scenes like say proposing a girl, but you know it is done technically - you don't feel anything. But sometimes I feel bad, maybe when my parents see me play this character and shouting at a girl, they might feel weird.

My observation is that the bias against female child is deeply ingrained, especially in certain parts of India and that it's not just the poor or the uneducated who have this bias, the well-read and the well-to-do also share it.

My family is democratic in the true sense.

My father is a scientist , my mother a teacher, my brother is a Naval Officer and I am an entertainer - we all are doing out a bit for our country!

I drove down to Leh with my brother and from there, we had a two-day trek till the base camp of Stok Kangri. After a day's layover to acclimatize ourselves and a partial attempt to climb the peak, we attempted the final climb a day later.

Rubina hasn't fully explored her adventurous side yet. The main reason I fell in love with her was because she is super healthy and fit. She proved that she is a good climber when I took her along to climb Mt. Kalsubai.

I feel I haven't quite settled in Mumbai. One, it is a cultural shock for me and two, I feel no one really has the time for others in Mumbai. For instance, if you need them, they wouldn't be there despite swearing allegiance to you.

Actually, the first film that I did was more like college boys project.

I don't understand why people set limits, like I will buy a house, then car, and so on. But I ask them, what after you've achieved all that? I have come to realize the value other things, like nature, or spending time with my family in Ludhiana or peace of mind.

A man having an affair is acceptable, women are called characterless. Why?

I like living on the edge.

I never make friends easily. And when I do, I'm faithful for life.

It's been two years since I am off television, but I am constantly being offered roles for TV projects. People from the TV industry continue to be kind to me.

Mostly, when you are shooting for action or intimate scenes, and you need to hold them, it takes away the mood if you both are not in sync. I have faced such situations and I think having a good bond with your co-stars only adds value to the scene.