Actor Saif Ali Khan is pleased as punch with his performance at a rock concert in New Delhi a fortnight ago and is planning another show with the band Parikrama.

"It was an awesome experience," Saif says but regrets his two children were not there to watch him perform with Parikrama last month.

Saif also sang at the concert. He says: "I can't say I am a great singer but I manage. I hope I didn't make a fool of myself. I didn't think I did. I never in my wildest dreams thought it'd be so much fun.

"It was an awesome experience. I played the guitar on stage for a good 45 minutes. None of that rock-star-in-scruffy-jeans, long hair, dragging his-guitar on-to-stage act for me," Saif told IANS.

"I think my performance was more what I wanted to express than what a rock concert is supposed to be. Would you believe, I finally sang two songs on stage.

"One was 'Roadhouse blues' by the Doors, the other was 'Johnny B. Goode' by Chuck Berry. I played 'Highway To Hell' and 'Whole Lot Of Rosie' by AC/DC and a rhythm-and-blues track by Parikrama. Yeah, I think I did well for myself."

Saif is also very pleased with Parikrama.

"They're really good. I enjoyed being on stage with them so much that I have decided to do another concert with Parkirama in Mumbai.

"The best thing about the Delhi concert was the knowledgeable audience. There were no star-gazers there, only rock fans who grooved to the beats."

Saif had only one regret. "I wish my two children were there to watch me. They would have seen an entirely new side to their father's personality.

"They need to catch up with their studies and be with their mom. Maybe they can watch me when I perform in Mumbai."

Saif will also be pitching for a project called Live Aid for AIDS victims. "Why not? Doing things where your celebrity helps raise funds for the needy is a great feeling. It's not about feeling superior. It's about feeling useful.

"We don't always get a chance to do the kind of work that offers us a chance to go beyond simple entertainment. If I can entertain and serve a purpose, that's fantastic."

Just after his live performance in Delhi, he shot off to Goa to shoot for a potato-chips advertisement. Saif also has three films lined up for shooting in 2006.

"In January I go into Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Othello'. Then there's Sidhartha Anand's (of 'Salaam Namaste' fame) film.

"Finally, I have said yes to Abbas-Mastan's new thriller where Fardeen will play my brother. It's a crackling whodunit... quite the two directors' forte. I have never worked with Abbas-Mastan and I am looking forward to it."

Saif's next release is Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Eklavya".

"In fact Vinod has brought out an awesome coffee-table book on the film. When I went visiting Mr Bachchan (Amitabh Bachchan) at the hospital we all went through the book...it's a work of art."

Saif's none too pleased with a section of the press commenting on girlfriend Rosa's clothes at the hospital. "She was dressed in a T-shirt when we visited Mr Bachchan. What's wrong with that?" he asks.

Earlier the road accident in which Saif was involved too made things unpleasant for him. The actor hit a 13-year-old boy with his car in Mumbai and was dragged to court by the boy's uncle.

One of the unfortunate repercussions was the incident outside the courthouse where Saif is supposed to have called some journalists "monkeys".

Saif doesn't deny using the term. "But it wasn't addressed at any specific group of people. It was just an expression of my annoyance at being crowded at a time when I was under so much stress.

"When I saw 500 people outside court shoving and pushing I just lost it. But then you must try to put yourself in my shoes and see how it felt. I had done everything properly for the kid whom I had hit. He's happy. His family is happy. I am happy.

"Then why the unpleasantness? I bear no grudges against anyone, least of all mediapersons who've always been extremely supportive."