"And that too for a shot which would last no more than 25 seconds on screen. I'd tell him that we should stop. But Ajay insisted we do it non-stop. We didn't want the aesthetics to be lost. I've never taken longer on any sequence."

Shah admits that sequence goes against Ajay's image.

"It's not a very macho thing to do. And it certainly goes against the image of the action hero and the comic hero. Quite naturally Ajay was zapped when he heard that he was to do sequence which required him to punish himself by whipping himself."

The director also clarifies that the scene has nothing to do with religion and that Ajay isn't playing a Muslim character in "London Dreams".

"I'd be very alarmed if people see in a religious light. It'd just show we're cynical about religion. Ajay plays a very intense and emotional character who does shock people with his extreme behaviour. I wanted to shock audiences.

"Ajay's character is on the edge. I had to show that edginess. Ajay is such a chilled-out, in-control person. He would never be expected to punish himself. But I'd rather let the character define its actions rather than the image of actor."

The film, that also stars Salman Khan and Asin Thottumkal, is scheduled for an Oct 30 release. Does Shah expect censor trouble? "I expect trouble from the censors any time."

Right before we see Ajay whipping himself, we get him whipping up the laughs in "All The Best". The laugh riot, which is directed by Rohit Shetty, is set for Oct 16 release.

But Shah is not at all worried.

"In a span of two weeks, audiences will see Ajay in two drastically different roles. If 'London Dreams' was funny, I'd be nervous. But mine is a completely different film from 'All The Best'. 'London Dreams' is my most intense film to date. And if Ajay is the only leading man to whip himself, I'd say he has guts," he said.