By MUMTAJ BEGUM

At 42, Salman Khan believes he isn't getting wiser. He talks about films, painting, and on remaking `Amar Akbar Anthony'. SANGEETHA DEVI. K reports

Old wine in a new bottle? Salman Khan is enthused but not sure of the logistics. He and his brothers Sohail and Arbaaz have been roped in for a remake of Amar Akbar Anthony. "The rights for the remake have been acquired but we are going slow on the project. We want a different name for the film. I've seen the response to Don. Despite the good collections at the box office, people kept comparing it with the older film. That's bound to happen. We don't want to offend senior actors who worked in the original. So the new film will have a lot of changes," he explains.

Salman was in Hyderabad as the brand ambassador of Saberi's and recalls, "I have a few family friends here. It's also one of my favourite cities because most of my films, even those that have flopped elsewhere, have been hits here." He adds after a pause, "The other centre where my films work well is Jodhpur." The mention of Jodhpur reminds us of the infamous blackbuck episode. Khan says, "I hope others would learn from that incident. There's a lot of awareness about blackbucks today. Something good comes out of unpleasant incidents."

Salman brushes aside any reference to his controversial side with "I'm unpredictable, even with the media. It gets to me when people ask obnoxious questions. Have controversies made me wiser? I don't think so." The actor, who turned 42 last month, believes he has a long way to go. "My forthcoming film Marigold is an international project but I'm not looking at Hollywood. Let me get my Hindi films right." Given a chance, he'd like to relive his role in Maine Pyar Kiya. "I don't feel old at 42. But I've lost my innocence; I doubt if I'd do justice to that role now."

When he is not acting or endorsing brands, Salman takes time out to paint. At first hesitant to talk about his creative streak, he says, "My mother used to paint. But since she was caught up in handling family responsibilities, many of her paintings were left incomplete. I finished them. My paintings are not for public consumption. I know that the strokes aren't good enough. I don't paint with a theme in mind. Each work is different."

Salman's roster is now choc-a-bloc with projects. "David Dhawan is one of my favourite directors. We're doing a film called Partner, which will also star Govinda.

There's also God Tusi Great Ho, London Dreams and a film with Priyadarshan. Among my recent films, Baabul hasn't done well. On hindsight, I think the second half was a let down." Salaam-e-Ishq, his first release this year, will see him "in a complex role. Both my character and that of Priyanka Chopra are complex. The two play games against each other."

While he talks nineteen to the dozen on films, he evades any reference to his personal life. "I'm too young at heart to think of marriage," he quips.