A block of wood. Nothing more than a piece of furniture. A good looking bloke who is fit just for the ramp. These were some of the comments reserved for Arjun Rampal, an established model then, who believed that he had it all when he had as many as three films of his releasing in his debut year (2001) - Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat, Deewanapan and Moksha: Salvation.

Today, close to a decade later, he is being wooed by the biggest of film makers, as can be seen in his current body of work which includes Housefull, Rajneeti and the remake of Stepmom. No wonder, he can be seen smiling as he moves ahead in his journey.

Would you like to come down for the second edition of Kolkata Fashion Week?

Kolkata is special. I have been privileged to spend time in the city and make some great friends there. I like to go there whenever I can.

You walked the ramp with wife Mehr at the fashion week in Mumbai...

It was fun. But I still get nervous walking with Mehr, because she is so good on the runway.

What was it like, shooting an ad film with Nicole Kidman?

Nicole is a thorough professional. It was amazing to see how she would go about doing things. Also, she’s very beautiful. The entire team was superb. The ad is stylish, sexy and humorous.

Though he made his Bollywood debut in 2001 and has acted in around 20 movies since then, it took Arjun Rampal eight years to get his first Filmfare Award. But the model-turned actor says no wait is too long to taste success.

"No, not at all. I don't think it is late. I believe it's better late than never. When I joined this industry, I was a complete outsider and it took me some time to understand how it functions,"Arjun told IANS.

"You learn to grow in this industry and if you are growing that is great,"he added.

Arjun, who entered filmdom with "Moksha", won the Filmfare Award this year for Best Supporting Actor in "Rock On!". The 36-year-old actor is now upbeat about working in Prakash Jha's political drama "Rajneeti"which also stars Katrina Kaif.

After creating waves with his latest film Rock On!!, Arjun Rampal moves on to television, as a judge in the fourth season of Star Plus' popular celebrity dance show Nach Baliye. He talks to Rajul Hegde about his new role, and much more.

What brings you to television?

I think television is a great medium to interact with viewers across India. Another reason is that my production company, called Chasing Ganesha, is planning to make shows for television. This show will help me to understand the medium closely. I am trying to experiment by working on television.

Mumbai: Arjun Rampal is passionate about music and he will be seen in the much hyped about Farhan Akhtar’s movie Rock On.

Chief Entertainment correspondent Rohit Khilnani got Arjun talking about what Rock On is all about.

Rohit Khilnani: How is it working with Farhan? You have already worked with him in Don, he is a great friend, how is it working with Farhan as actor?

Arjun Rampal: Farhan is a guy who is full of surprises. He is super talented. I think we are very fortunate to have him in our industry. He is a great friend. We made a good friendship through Rock On as we got closer. I think he has handled his role really, really well.