New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) Bollywood actor Arbaaz Khan, who is married to model-turned-actress Malaika Arora, says that in real life he is completely opposite to his character of a chauvinistic husband in his upcoming film ''Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye'.

'My character in the film is that of a typical husband, a little chauvinistic. He is always busy with his work and in turn pulls his wife down constantly and is forever eroding her self-esteem,' Arbaaz told IANS over telephone from Mumbai.

'It is true that I'm a total contrast from my character in the film, but every time you don't play characters that you can relate to. If you are an actor, you have to play different roles,' he said.

So what does one do while preparing to play a character completely unlike you?

'When we are working on a character, we study about it, in terms of looks, the character's mindset, his mannerisms. The craft of acting helps us in that. It is sure a challenge to portray someone who you aren't but then we have enough references to make it look real and convincing,' the actor explained.

'Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye' is about how distances and one's job create problems in one's married life. Starring Raima Sen and Randeep Hooda along with Arbaaz, the film is set to release Feb 6.

Arbaaz, who is Salman Khan's younger brother, started his Bollywood career in 1996 with 'Daraar' where he played a psychotic wife-beater. He then featured in many multi- starrers like 'Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya', 'Qayamat: City Under Threat', 'Hulchul' and the recent 'Fashion' among others.

The actor, who has portrayed various villainous characters on screen, maintains that he was never afraid of being typecast as a baddie in filmdom.

'I was never afraid of being typecast in a certain type of role. I just pick and choose from the roles that are offered to me. If that in turn results in me doing more of a particular kind of character, then that's fine with me as long as the role is interesting,' Arbaaz said.

However, he now doesn't mind taking a break from negative roles. Even though his portrayal of a character with grey shades in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion' was appreciated, he is now keen on doing a comedy.

'I really want to do a comedy at the moment. Maybe something like 'Partner' is what will excite me right now,' Arbaaz said.

'But I'm very happy that my role in 'Fashion' was appreciated. It definitely feels nice and gives you an impetus to work harder and do more good work,' he added.

Arbaaz is no hurry to venture into direction, but he is interested in turning film producer.

'I'm now concentrating on my own production house. Salman is the hero of my first film.'

The other projects in the actor's kitty include 'Kissan' and director Manish Gupta's thriller 'Stoneman'.