Well, he may have enjoyed himself but the same could not be said for Rajiv, whose film was delayed by almost a year on account of a fracture sustained by Bobby during one of the action scenes of Barsaat. Bobby reveals that Rajiv came all the way to London to see him and when he had to be operated on, Rajiv made sure that Bobby had a good doctor. The director even stayed till the operation was over. "And it wasn't because he was worried his film would be delayed but because he really cared and wanted me to be fine. He treats me like a younger brother," Bobby says emotionally. The accident put Bobby out of action for several weeks and when he returned to the studios, he confesses, it was painful doing a vigorous song-and-dance sequence and Gupt had plenty of those. "But Rajiv never complained. In fact, whenever I had to do any stunts everyone was extra careful and caring," he maintains.

    Maybe Rajiv didn't complain but Bobby's accident almost resulted in a split between Sohail Maklai and Rahul Rawail, the producer and director of Aur Pyar Ho Gaya. "What split are you talking about?" Bobby quirks an enquiring eyebrow. "As far as I know Sohail and Rahul haven't had any difference of opinion. Aur Pyar Ho Gaya has been progressing quite smoothly. It was launched last July and is releasing this August. That's fast work for any Hindi film."

    Did the film make such good progress because it had a tyrant at the helm who would keep his cast and crew up at all hours? "Is your tyrant by any chance Rahul Rawail?" Bobby asks. When you nod, his expression becomes even more incredulous. "Rahul is no tyrant, hey, he's not even very strict," Bobby defends his director. "He's just very sincere and hates any disruptions and distractions when he's working. It was great working with him."

    And it must have been equally great wooing the former Miss World. "I enjoyed working with Aishwarya Rai. She is not bad at all considering that Aur Pyar Ho Gaya was her first Hindi film. In fact, I'd say she's very good," Bobby says enthusiastically, if a trifle diplomatically.

     Did he ever feel envious because Ash would be the centre of attention everywhere they went? "Never!" he exclaims. "Why should I? And Ash never threw her weight around. She's very down-to-earth despite her celebrity status."

     Besides Gupt and Aur Pyar Ho Gaya, Bobby has two other films, Abbas-Mustan's thriller, Soldier, and Vidhu Vinod Chopra's sweet love story, Kareeb. Both are fast nearing completion. The three directors, he insists, have very different styles of working. "Vinod Chopra would make us rehearse the shots a day before they were to be picturised and then once again before the final take. Abbas-Mustan had everything worked out when they arrived on the sets, always dressed in white. They discuss every scene at length with everyone. The brothers are like two people with one mind. If one of them stops in mid-sentence the other completes it without a pause. They never shout at each other or at anyone else. They are very sweet, organised and know exactly what they want. Shots are canned in quick succession," Bobby informs. Vinod, Bobby goes on to reveal, lives in a world inhibited by people who are associated with his film. If any outsider intrudes into his world he doesn't like it. In fact, according to Bobby, Vinod doesn't even like people dropping in on his sets unless they are working with him. "He hates distractions. He makes a film from the heart and is completely involved. Vinod's films are all well-made irrespective of whether the film is a hit or a flop," Bobby observes.

     Talking of flops, none of Bobby's directors, with the exception of Rajiv Rai whose Mohra was a box-office winner two years ago, have had any successes lately. Vinod Chopra's 1942 A Love Story couldn't live up to the sky-high expectations it raised. Rahul Rawail's Anjaam also didn't have a particularly memorable run at the box-office. Even Abbas-Mustan's Daraar didn't make much of an impact at the cash counters. Considering that Bobby's projects are carefully screened, how did he land up with three not-very-saleable-at-the-moment directors? Their recent run must be giving him sleepless nights. "No, it doesn't bother me. Just because their last films haven't done too well doesn't mean that these three are bad directors. Maybe the script wasn't well written or the performances weren't upto the mark. There are so many reasons for a film's failure. I can assert that all the directors I'm working with today are the best directors in the country. With a proper script they can do wonders. That's why I insist on a complete script before I start shooting. And all these makers have fabulous scripts," he says with complete confidence.