The day we pick up the phone with Dino Morea to discuss physical fitness is the first time in seven months that he has been ill. “It happens to the fittest too,” he laughs. He says it has been several years since he took a tablet to heal himself, and is likely to consume turmeric, or brew a kada based on “one of the many recipes available online”, if need be. “I’m not dissing allopathic medicine, but I’d want to stay far away from it for as long as I can,” says the actor, asserting that taking active steps to look after his health has kept him in such good stead that even as he inches towards 50, he could pull off the action sequences he needed to for his Telugu debut, Agent, with such flair that it didn’t require significant prep to play the part.

“The makers had seen my last act in The Empire and wanted a similar madness in this [offering]. I have the capacity to pull off any [kind of] action, so, I didn’t need to do anything extra. I am seen fighting with Akhil Akkineni, who plays a young recruit, while I am the older one gone rogue. There’s a lot of shooting and guns involved. If you’re not fit, it really gets to you. I got hit in the ribs too, but that’s all part of it.”