NEW DELHI - Akshaye Khanna shared screen space with his dad Vinod Khanna in his debut film “Himalay Putra” 12 years ago. The actor is now longing to act with the veteran thespian once again.

“I would love to (act with my father). Dad is a superb actor and my idol. At the moment there is no project in the pipeline… let’s hope somebody would come to us with a fantastic script that would do justice to him as an actor,” Akshaye told IANS in an email interview.

The actor, who has done hit films like “Border”, “Taal”, “Dil Chahta Hai” and “Hungama” among others, is ready with his first release of the year “Short Kut - The Con Is On”, an Anil Kapoor production.

Talking about his role in the film that also stars Arshad Warsi and Amrita Arora in pivitol roles, Akshaye said he plays the role Anil was slated to essay.

“I’m playing a struggling assistant who wants to become a successful director. Earlier Anil was supposed to do my role and I was to do Arshad’s but later he decided just to produce it and not to get into acting,” he said.

“The script was first written by Anees Bazmi and then rewritten by Neeraj Vora, both geniuses at comedy. So I was assured that the film is going to be hilarious,” said the actor, who is known to have great comic timing.

“Short Kut” is Akshaye’s second film with Anil Kapoor as producer, the first one being the critically-acclaimed “Gandhi My Father”. Asked about his camaraderie with the actor-producer, Akshaye said Anil is like an elder brother to him.

“Anil is like my elder brother. It was great working with him once again. It was almost like working for my own production house. What I like the best about him is that he puts his soul behind the films he makes and that encourages everyone to work harder,” Akshaye said.

So how easy is it to carry off a comedy?

“I’m very comfortable with comedy, although doing comedy is very tough because it should come naturally to you when you are in front of the camera and (it) should not look forced. If the act looks forced, it would get translated on screen and people won’t enjoy watching it. You have to try all the more hard to look natural on screen,” said the 34-year-old who has no plans for marriage in the near future.

The actor has two projects lined up.

“I am doing a film again with Anil kapoor titled ‘No Problem’. It is directed by Anees Bazmi and then a thriller with Priyadarshan which is based on a report that had appeared in a newspaper some time ago.”

So how does he look back at the 12 years in the film industry?

“I am happy with whatever I have got professionally. I am happy that the industry and people have accepted me as an actor. No regrets as such. You learn from what you do. I am still learning,” he said.