After scoring big on Ghajini, Aamir Khan [Images] is now focusing his attention on his next venture -- and the Indian epic, Mahabharata [Images], seems to have caught his eye.

"Mahabharata is a story that is very close to my heart," Aamir told the media during a party organised in Mumbai [Images] on Monday night to celebrate the success of Ghajini [Images]. "I want to do a film for sure, but not at this moment because you need to do full justice to that. When you are making a film on the Mahabharata, you cannot afford to make mistakes. One has to be very careful and at the moment, I don't have the guts to do Mahabharata."

Aamir had flown down from Bangalore, where he has been shooting for his latest film Three Idiots for Ghajini's success party. Ghajini has become one of the biggest hits of the year, making Rs 200 crore worldwide. Three Idiots is being directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who directed the Munnabhai [Images] series.

So which character in Mahabharata has fascinated him the most? "Karan," the actor answered. "I would love to do that role. Unfortunately, I cannot do it because of my height. I would love to do Arjun's character too. But again, I don't look like a warrior, so I cannot do that role. I am not six feet tall so these roles will not suit me. So the best role for me would be that of Lord Krishna's."

Known to be a perfectionist, Aamir has ventured into territories where his contemporaries haven't dared go. He took up unconventional films like Lagaan [Images] and Taare Zameen Par [Images], which met with success even though they did not follow the tried and tested formula of Hindi films.

When asked where he learnt to take such risks, Aamir replied, "I learnt it from Sunil Dutt, on the sets of Parampara. He had an amazing life and did some great work.

"I go by my instincts (while choosing films)," he continued. "I did Taare Zameen Par because I liked the film. I had no idea that the film would do big business."

Text: Syed Firdaus Ashraf | Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar