'Nobody takes me seriously'

After the fabulous Jab We Met in 2007, director Imtiaz Ali is back with his next venture, Love Aaj Kal. The film stars Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. This is also Saif's first home production.

When the makers launched the film at a press meet at the PVR theatre in Parel, central Mumbai, all eyes were on the director and his stunning cast.

It would have seemed that Kareena Kapoor would have been the apt girl for the lead role -- since both men associated with the film have contributed so much to her personal and professional life. But Imtiaz looked cool about his decision to cast Deepika.

"Meera's role in Love Aaj Kal suits Deepika, that's why I took her -- just like role of Geet suited Kareena in Jab We Met," Imitaz said simply.

Saif joins the list of other actors like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, who turned producers. His production house is called Illuminati Films.

Apparently, Saif was very impressed by Dinesh Vijan, who produced Being Cyrus, and roped him in as his business partner. "He was very organised. I liked his style of functioning. So when it came to producing films, I decided to join Vijan," Saif said.

So what was the first thing he did as a producer? "I saw to it that everyone got paid in time," Saif quipped.

So why didn't he recommend his girlfriend Kareena's name for his film? "Though I am the producer, nobody takes me seriously," Saif joked. Then he added on a serious note, "Kareena and I are together in our next film, Agent Vinod, so there is no problem."

Love Aaj Kal tells a story of two generations. Saif has two looks in the film. In one, he plays Veer Singh, who falls in love with Harleen Kaur in 1965. In the second, he plays Jai, who falls in love with Meera in the current year.

Love Aaj Kal will see real life couple Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh get together on screen once again.