Sure, he is as tall and strapping as he looks on his BBC television show, but when he sits down to be interviewed (this is his first visit to India), he appears quite nervous. Really. And when he speaks, it's in a soft, accented brogue, quite different from the stern, aggressive tone we're accustomed to on Hard Talk. Sebastian and the programme have been appreciated by Indian viewers of BBC. But now he has been elevated to something of a hero. Recently, Sebastian interviewed (grilled?) Pakistan'sInformation Minister, Mushahid Hussain and Foreign Minister, Sartaj Aziz. For many who saw the interviews, he singlehandedly levelled the scales of BBC's coverage of the Kargil crisis, which otherwise, appeared to tilt towards Pakistan. ``I don't take sides,'' insists the man, ``I am here to put politicians under the spotlight -- to test beliefs, to see if there are any holes. To measure what they said before with what they say now.''

So Sebastian is ``considerably'' surprised by his sudden status as a star. He was simply doing his job. And he isn't overwhelmed. ``Wait until they (Indians) see the interviews with their politicians,'' he warns with a laugh.

In the two interviews with the Pakistani ministers, Sebastian was aggressive, insistent, impassioned. He aggressively interrogated both men; he insistently asked Mushahid for a commitment to a `first no use' on nuclear arms; he passionately and repeatedly questioned Pakistan's volte face on the intruders after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief's visit toWashington. In fact, short of calling Sartaj Aziz a liar, Sebastian did everything. Was there a special fire in his belly?

``I don't think so,'' he replies much to your disappointment. ``With politicians, I always take a robust line. I'm combative. It's my duty to challenge what they say.'' Sebastian felt there was a contradiction between what the Pakistanis were saying before and after the meeting with President Clinton and he wanted to nail it. ``I am not taking a clear line,'' he says, adding he has no stand on the Kargil issue: ``I am simply there to ask questions.''

But wasn't there a contradiction, or discrepancy between the position he appeared to have adopted -- namely, that the intruders were Pakistanis -- and the BBC line of being unable to (or not wanting to) identify them as such. ``I am not a news bulletin,'' argues Sebastian. Well, of course not: We can all see that. But doesn't the BBC have a policy on political issues and their coverage on all its programmes? ``There are differentstandards,'' says Sebastian. ``But there are no guidelines for me, no policies. I ask whatever comes into my head. Nobody tells you what to ask.'' Hoorah, you want to cheer.

Still, it's nothing personal. After the gruelling session on Hard Talk, Aziz was most amicable; he even asked Sebastian to join him for coffee. Perhaps because no matter how hard you question, the guest always has an opportunity to put forward his or her point of view. Which leads us to a very obvious query: Isn't it curious that at the height of the conflict, two Pakistani ministers appeared on the programme, but there was neither sight nor sound of an Indian?

``We did ask,'' says Sebastian, ``but initially, the Indians were not enthusiastic.'' Were they more so now? ``What would you say if I told you the Foreign Minister and the Defence Minister gave interviews on the same day?'' counters Sebastian. We'd say that was pretty enthusiastic.

Such enthusiasm may be gratifying but Sebastian claims he doesn't take any of this tooseriously. ``The influence of the media is greatly exaggerated.'' He points out that in Britain, no Labour minister has so far agreed to appear on Hard Talk.

The 47-year-old Oxford University graduate, was BBC correspondent in both Moscow and Washington during the mid-eighties. But he feels that the media, particularly television has changed phenomenally since then. ``News is now made up of one word: new. There is no time to go and find out things, to spend three or four days finding out. Those days are gone,'' he sounds regretful. ``Now there is coverage, plenty of coverage -- 24-hour news channels require that -- but it is not as satisfying.'' Which is why he is not eager to return to the field, but prefers the pace of Hard Talk.

``I think of it as a conversation,'' says Sebastian of the programme. ``The aim is to have a good conversation.'' That's where the selection of guests is vital. Often, there is a pre-interview meeting with a potential guest to ascertain whether or not they haveanything interesting to say, whether indeed, ``they have a stimulating 25 minutes conversation in them!'' Which reminds us: whatever happened to the much-touted, advertised interview, sorry conversation, with cricketer Anil Kumble? ``I don't know but it just didn't work out,'' is all you get from Sebastian and the BBC team.

The show goes on air five days a week. One good reason for naming it Hard Talk. Sebastian tells you he has a very good team behind the programme. ``But I still have to read everything.'' How on earth does he remember all the details? ``I have a good short term memory,'' he replies.

Time to go. He has some hard-talking to do.