With an estimated population of 8.55 million, New York is the most populous city in the US. Described as the world's cultural and financial capital, it houses the United Nations headquarters and makes up over 40 per cent of the population of New York State. Arjun Kapoor lists it as his most favourite city in the world. Why? Read on...

LONE BUT NOT ALONE
I visited New York City for the first time with my dad (producer Boney Kapoor) and Anil (Kapoor) chachu when I was around nine or 10 years old. We were on a whirlwind world tour and went to a lot of other cities whose names I've forgotten. But even as a child I fell in love with the Big Apple's magnetic energy and since then I'm always looking for an excuse to go back. You can walk there for hours, catch a movie or a play at Broadway and have a drink alone without feeling lonely because you are always surrounded by the warmth of strangers. It's a city that never sleeps... Growing up, I would fly there during summer holidays to hang out with my friends. Rohit Dhawan, Varun's brother, was studying filmmaking, I stayed with him for a couple of days. We got Hindi film DVDs home to watch. Another buddy, Ranbir Kapoor, was also in NYC studying filmmaking and method acting at the School of Visual Arts and later at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

My sister Anshula graduated from the Barnard College which was American President Barack Obama's alma mater too. I helped her get settled. A private liberal arts college, it's the world's oldest women's college and the only women's college in NYC today. It was founded in 1889 as a response to Columbia University's refusal to admit women into the institution. The four-acre campus stretches along Broadway and the college boasts of language clubs, a free-form radio station, WBAR, and night carnivals. My sister made amazing friends there.

I was in NYC recently with Mohit Suri, Shraddha Kapoor, Chetan Bhagat and the Half Girlfriend team for a shoot. We shot in Times Square which always leaves me awestruck. There are so many people coming and going, watching them makes me realise just how small a part of the universe I am!

FAR FROM THE CROWDS
We also filmed at Central Park, one of NYC's iconic places. We Mumbaikars constantly crib about how there's no place to stand and stare or sit and smile in our city while the New Yorkers have built this huge park right there in the middle of their city where you can jog, stroll, cycle, boat or just savour the peace you find not too far away from the maddening crowd.

Last September I was at the Central Park with Freida Pinto representing India at the Global Citizen's Award. Hosted by Stephen Colbert, Hugh Jackman, Selma Hayek Pinault, Kerry Washington and Olivia Wilde, this advocacy-driven music concert had live performances by Pearl Jam, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Sunidhi Chauhan for an audience of 60,000.

I was there as an ambassador of WWF India to deliver a two-minute speech showcasing India's progress and the challenges that remain, speaking before global heads like the UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, Bill and Melinda Gates, US Vice President Joe Biden and US First Lady, Michelle Obama. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the guests of honour in 2015. I felt like a proud Indian.

WHAT'S COOKING?
I was in the midst of a hectic shoot and didn't have time for anything other than work, but since I know the city well I took Shraddha and some of the others to one of my favourite restaurants, Balthazar. The French brasserie located between Broadway and Crosby Street in SoHo, Manhattan, in a building that used to house a tannery earlier, is the place for celebrity spotting. Tom Hanks was leaving as I entered. We made eye contact but no small talk. Balthazar is famous for its steak au pouvre, steak frites, duck confit, butternut squash and French onion soup.

New York is also the world's pizza capital and Brooklyn has some of the best pizza joints with Di Fara's leading the way. There's also Roberta's famous for its Speckenwolf and Duck Hunt, Best Pizza which lives up to its name and L& B Spumoni Gardens whose signature dish, Grandma's Slice, you can munch on while looking at the New York skyline.

Besides Brooklyn we also filmed at the Rockerfeller Centre between 48th and 51st Streets. It boasts of the biggest Christmas tree and the best Christmas decorations. We were there on Bakri Eid and got biryani from the world's most popular food cart. For years, people have been flocking to the corner of the 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue to the 'Platter' or the 'Chicken & Rice Guy' for rice and slices of lamb slathered in a delicious white sauce.

One evening before we started shooting, we also went to a rooftop bar in the Meatpacking District where you can sip a drink and have a bite with the city spread out before you. Awesome!

FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE POPE
From clothes to movies, from Bloomingdale's Department Store to the high-end shops on Fifth Avenue, New York promises value for money. I went shopping with Karan Johar to the Palmer's Department Store once.

Last year, I was shopping at Fifth Avenue and got locked in for almost an hour inside a departmental store. Pope John Francis was holding a mass at a church close by and security was tight. I was sitting there looking out when the Pope got off to switch cars right in front of the store. It was surreal; there were thousands waiting for hours to catch a glimpse of him and here I was seeing him almost face-to-face. I felt blessed!

Akshay Kumar is not only disciplined, but also completely focused on his work. Unlike many men and women from the film industry, who love to gossip, he is someone who doesn't entertain that at all. Ahead of his upcoming film Entertainment, he talks to Bombay Times about his recent family holiday to the US, his two dogs Okie and Cleo and what he likes the most about Salman Khan. Excerpts:

You have recently returned from your family holiday to the US. Tell us about it?
While shooting, you have people running behind you, but on family holidays, you are running behind them.
You have to hold your kids, listen to them and take them everywhere. One child wants to go to Universal Studios and one wants to go to Disney. I had to go for every round. Even where there was a small ride, where my legs could hardly fit, I had to sit on that too, holding the baby. And 40 days to do that. This was more hard work than working on my film Holiday. You have to take care of your wife and look after her also. It's hard to go on a vacation. In India, I have my boy Nitin and I can tell him, 'Paani pilade beta'. There it is, 'Dad, can I have a glass of water? Dad, can you take me down there? I want to eat something'. So, I become Nitin there. And that too, you become Nitin throughout 24 hours.

But I love New York. There are so many places to see and go to. There is the hustle bustle, but, at the same time, you have Central Park where you go and enjoy a picnic. In India, I don't see the concept of picnics anymore. Earlier when I was a kid, we would take our food and spread it on a chadar at Hanging Gardens or the Borivali National Park with your family and sit around it and play. But Central Park still has picnics. Twice a week, we were going there for picnics. Indians, as you know, don't come much to places like Central Park. They are more there in areas of shopping and food joints. While the kids were more interested in their pizzas and pastas and the World Cup, I love sushi, so Tina and I would go out to some of our favourite places. One restaurant called Poke allows you to bring your own booze and is very interesting, as they serve you only the ice and the glasses. We also watched the current top show running in Broadway called Rocky. It was very nice and even nicer than the film. I used to only walk and sometimes take a cab, if the distance was not walkable. The best part is that the cabbies there are Indians, Pakistanis or Afghanis, so kai bar toh they would not take money from me. As we were usually travelling only small distances within Manhattan, the bill would usually be only $10-12, but I would land up paying them $100 each time to keep my thing of being Akshay Kumar. I like the rule in New York that if your dog shits on the road, you have to pick it up. You have to carry a plastic bag with your dog, so that if he shits on the road, you need to pick it up and not litter the ground. If you do, then their CCTVs will catch you and fine you heavily.

Talk about your own dogs?
We have two German Shepherds at home. The older one is Okie and the other, Cleo. I got Okie the same time when Aarav was born. I wanted them both to grow up together. Aarav named him Okie just like that. I remember the day we brought Aarav home, Okie came and started sniffing and somehow, even though I had got Okie, he got the message that Aarav was his master and he had to look after him. He would follow Aarav wherever he went and would sit beside him. Aarav and he have grown up together. Okie has become really old now and is 14. Aarav is 12. If we lose him, obviously it will affect Aarav, as he is most attached to him. We actually had another adopted dog after Okie, but he was not well and even though we tried our level best to save him, he died. Aarav had got attached to him also and started crying after he died, which is when we brought Cleo.

Do you yourself like dogs?
I myself grew up with a dog, which my dad had got for me, called Lucky. I would whistle to him and he would come to me. It's amazing how these dogs know whom they are supposed to get attached to. When you are feeling low, they will do something to you and you feel okay. Even when you are not required by the world, they will make you feel wanted. Okie will come to know if I am down and somehow, he will come and sit next to my feet. Or he will come and keep his face on my knee, as if to tell me I know you need me. He will keep on looking at you at such times and is extremely lovable. It's a strange thing, but even though the kid will pull a dog's ear or pull his tail, he will never bite him as he knows that he is harmless. If an adult were to do that, they would surely get bitten.

Salman Khan told me that he considers you the No. 1 star.
I can tell you that he is the right person to start a movement called Being Human. We have worked together in two films and have spent time on the set together, but I have been to his house only once when his dad called me. The best quality I like about him is his respect for his family, his parents and his relatives. It's a quality which is rare. The way he looks up to his father and looks after his brothers, his sisters is just amazing. Also the way he looks after his staff and also people, who are not his staff. I have heard so many stories about the kind of charity he does without even thinking. I have myself seen him giving bundles of money to people who need it. He is doing so well today and is there where he is because of his charity, mind and his goodness.