How do you look back on the long and exciting innings you have played in this here today gone tomorrow industry?

Life could never be better. I am a completely contented man and actor. I have received more than I had ever expected. I can't find any reason to crib, cry complain or regret. I am only grateful to God for all that has happened to me in all these years. There are other actors who have had their share of ups and down, but my career has gone steady right from the beginning. I have never had a lean or low phase in my career. It has been one long season of satisfaction for me.

What do you think is the secret of your survival in the face of relentless competition and the onslaughts of time?

It is very difficult to point out any particular reason. All I know is that I have been very truthful to myself both as human being and an actor. I have been successful in creating a blend of both a sincere man and an actor and the blend seem to have worked. It is not just my case. You can take any actor who has a lasted long inspite of all the competition and changes you will find that they are where they are because of managing this blend. I also think there has been a lot of hard work done with all the passion possible that has helped me be what I am.

Did you come to make it as a villain?

No, I came to be an actor. I almost become a hero but that was not destined for me. I tried my best but ended up playing one of the leading villains. I am not saying that. It is the industry the filmmaker and the people who have been kind enough to say such good things about a bad man like me.

Who were the directors who first recognized the wild streaks in a handsome man who had all the makings of a dashing hero?

I feel it is Mr. Manoj Kumar who played the most important part in making me a bad man. I had done some small roles as the wicked man. But it was Manoj Kumar with whom I had worked in my early films who saw the villain in me. He gave me the first major break in his first film as a director,"Upkaar". I took up the challenge and played the role he had created for me with my whole heart and the results were unbelievable. Something unique happened in "Upkaar". Pran Sahab who was playing the villain for several centuries turned a new leaf and played the better than good man and I was born as a bad man. Manoj Kumar cast me in all the films he directed and gave me a chance to prove myself as a bad audience hated me which was ironically the proof of my popularity and success. There were other directors like Yash Chopra who gave me all the scope to grow as a bad man. Then there were all the Hindi films made by directors from the South. All of them had a part to play in my growth as a bad man but when I look back I think it is Manoj Kumar who showed me the way to reach there I have today.

Do you ever think was an alternative and that you could have made it as a hero?

I don't believe in looking back. I also believe that whatever has to happen will happen. It is the other forces and powers that play their parts in your career and they are more powerful than you. There are times when you just have to keep changing with the times and that has always been my most important achievements. I feel, I have always moved and changed with the demands of time. Time is the most powerful force in the life of any man, an actor specially. I wanted to be a hero, the thorn in his sight. Things could have been different if everything had happened the way I wanted but everything doesn't happen like that. Life can be much less complicated if you accept the truth about life.

What according to you are the qualifications to be a good bad man?

I personally think after all these years and all my experience that it is much more difficult to play the bad man than playing the good man. The hero has just one straight line to follow. But the villain has a role which crosses all kinds of complex lines. You have to be a very close observer of life to be a good actor but you have to be a keener observer if you have to play a believable human bad character. I have never lost touch with life and never will as long as I am an actor and if I have to bring life to the characters I play.

Don't you think that a villain has to follow the same pattern of acting once; he is accepted and typed as an actor?

It all depends on what kind of actor you want to be. If you are happy playing the same kind of character and get types, then God bless you, but if you have to make a mark you have to add that something from within you to the character. You must keep trying and making new experiments even while doing the same old thing. You can be what they want you to be all your life and you can try and have your own way. I have tried all the ways. That is the reason I think why I have survived so long. I would have perished and become the past a long time ago if I had not pursued my career with the passion to do something new all the time. That is why I am good at being the typical Prem Chopra and I can also rise to face any challenge however difficult.

How many leading men have you played havoc with?

Almost all the leading men of the last three or four decades. I have worked with Dilip Kumar in ten films, with Dev Anand in several films, with Raj Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar in some films and almost all the major films of Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and above all Manoj Kumar. I have still to find any one of them treating me as the bad man I am in their lives in films.

Have you faced any problems because of your work on screen?

None, thankfully! I have had a very normal life and I think it is mainly because I believe in keeping my career and my life far away from any kind of controversies.

What kind of roles are you playing these days?

I am very lucky. I still find some very important roles. They could be small films but my roles are very important. You will see them in time to come.

Why do you think we don't have the kind of villains we used to have in your times?

I think it is all because of the kind of subjects that are being made today. Moreover it is very surprising to see some of the heroes play the bad man, which includes the great Amitabh Bachchan too.

What is your advice to the young villains of today?

Who am I to advice them? I have always taken advice from people who I feel can be of help. They too must find the right people. I think if they work hard, sincerely and honestly they will never fail.

What is your greatest contribution to life?

I have helped in making the good triumph over even which is always the need of the time. I have done it at great risk, sometimes even putting my reputation at stake. I think that is quite a contribution to life, don't you think so?