Things are looking up for him and there is a ring of confidence in his voice. Arbaaz Khan welcomes an interview for a change. Since the acclaim he received for Fashion, and with four releases round the corner, the actor has shed the inhibitions he had.

“I feel more confident now. The appreciation that Fashion got me has helped get over the insecurities I had as an actor.” And it doesn’t bother him that it comes for a role that had grey shades. “I could have either sat and waited for the ‘right kind of roles’ to be offered or I could’ve worked hard, choosing from whatever I got and honing my skills. I chose the latter. Now is the time to pick and choose.”

Most characters that the grim actor has been appreciated for have had dark undertones, starting with his debut, Daraar, where the ever-loving husband to Malaika Arora played an obsessive husband. “I can easily contest what you say,” he laughs for the first time during the conversation, “But I’m an actor and if I can do certain roles well, I have no issues.”

Khan, 41, isn’t averse to doing romantic films. “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was a love story and so was Satya; it’s the treatment that made them different. Given my personality, a Satya would be more befitting.”

In his kitty are Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye, which releases today and sees him as an uncaring husband; Stoneman Murders, which is a thriller based on a serial killer that stalks Mumbai and has Khan playing a policeman; Jai Veeru, which is a romantic comedy and Kisaan, which is his brother Sohail’s production.

“Set in rustic Punjab, Kisaan is the story of a father (Jackie Shroff) and his sons, played by Sohail and me.” The father, a farmer, is able to educate only one of them and that triggers off complexities in their lives as the children grow up.

Incidentally, the three brothers (Salman is the eldest) are often part of films that focus on family ties. But Khan insists it isn’t a conscious decision. “Maybe subconsciously we tend to like such scripts,” he smiles. “After all, I am what I am because of my family. At a time when the world was judging me, my family considered me worthy of appreciation. This gave me the time and space to evolve in my career.”