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Vashi2Panvel.com: Navi Mumbai: February: 24: He came, he saw, he conquered. That maybe one of the biggest clichés, but when one talks of Will Smith and his performance with the press and the aam junta in Mumbai, there couldn’t be truer words. Here, Will Smith talks to India News Feature Service correspondent Nidhi Anand about his India trip.
Smith is in Mumbai to launch Sony TV’s new English movie channel Pics. But that is only one of the activities that his Mumbai itinerary boasts of. The others include a masti bhara press conference, where he danced, jumped on sofas, hugged every journalist in sight and made a public announcement of how he was enamoured by Aishwarya and the Big B. Like it is with every Hollywood star visiting India, our Indian counterparts do their best to roll out the red carpet for them. So there was Farden and his new bride Natassha throwing a huge party for them that started at Fardeen’s house and ended at the J W Marriot.

You have been invited to India by Sony pictures to launch their new channel tell us something about the channel?
It is an English movie channel, called Sony Pix and the channel promises to be the best story teller in India. It will focus a lot on the theme and the script of movies.

If you go to see even in the USA in the last few years people have rejected many huge blockbusters because they were not supported with good scripts. So the concept is slowly changing today. People are looking for good scripts in films, besides just the star cast. So in a way I am here to save my future (laughs).

Why do you think Sony chose you to launch their channel in India?
Well, simply because I love India (laughs). Actually I have had a strong association with Sony pictures for several years and when I was presented the opportunity to visit India I readily agreed. Sony Entertainment Television is popular here and I was thrilled that they invited me to make this visit.

Do you have any self interest in the Indian cinema?
India is becoming a superpower on the world stage and I wanted to experience the industry firsthand. I am really keen on knowing more about Bollywood. I think the kind of films India makes is remarkable and I love the music and songs in Indian movies. In fact I would love to be featured in an Indian song. Besides I am also meeting many producers and directors and indulging in a few artistic endeavours and if something really nice comes my way I would surely love to do it.

Which are the Indian films you have watched till today?
Well the first Bollywood film that I watched was Sarkar and I must say I was completely blown away by Big B’s performance and now I want to be known as Big W (laughs).

One Indian film actress you would love to work with?
I would love to work with Aishwarya Rai and I am just waiting for a chance to share screen space with her. I think she is extremely beautiful and very smart. She has this powerful aura surrounding her ….Well I think I can just go on talking about her. I even wanted to work with her in my film Hitch but things couldn’t materialise then because at that point of time she was busy with her film, Bride and Prejudice, so probably some other time. But I am sure that one day I will work in a film with her.

There are reports that you visited the Taj Mahal at Agra recently on your visit to the capital tell us about your trip?
Oh it was a beautiful experience. We drove al the way from Delhi to Agra for almost four and a half hours just to see the Taj Mahal. I really loved the Taj Mahal because I feel I can understand that kind of love and affection towards feminity and I can relate to the need of a monument to express ones love.

Who are the people whom you have met on your visit in the city?
Well Fardeen Khan and Natassha had arranged a party for me where I even met Abhishek Bachchan and we had a blast and we partied through the night. Basically I am creating an alliance with people over here and am looking forward to meeting new people.

According to you, which has been your best performance till date?
My best performance till date has been in ‘Ali’ but I must say that I had the best time while shooting for the film ‘Bad Boys’.

What does the future hold for you?
Well right now I am looking forward to my next film which is ‘Pursuit of Happiness’. This would even be my son’s first film and the first time that I would be sharing screen space with my seven year old son.