Never. He is not the preachy type. But yes, he would share his experiences, and from that, we can gather so many things. What I learnt from Shah Rukh was that you need not put on a mask to be in the industry. Just be what you are. If you are good in your work and a good human being, then the sky is the limit. That's why he does he gives 200 percent in every shot. Even after so many years, he still has that passion.

Go on.

He would help me in certain sequences because he's more experienced. He understands the pulse of the audience. In certain scenes, he would tell me that isme agar hum thoda aur energy dalengey thoda aur achcha hoga. He would tell me to do the same shot in two ways: one in my style and the other, in his. Then, we would compare them. Sometimes, his way would be better. That understanding of Shah Rukh is superb. He knows exactly what would look good. That's why he is a superstar today.

At any point did you advise Shah Rukh?

No. But I would tell him about certain reactions from my college and theatre days, and ask him to add it. Sometimes, he would ask me how we could better the scene if it was looking flat.

How was it working with Farah Khan?

I had heard that Farah was a hard taskmaster, bahut chichid karti hai, gussa karti hai, sambhal ke rehna etc etc. But I think it's all bullshit. People need to work with Farah to know how she is. She is very sweet and warm. If she gets angry, there's a reason for it.

She doesn't keep anything in her heart. She'll tell you what she feels to your face. She would not scold Deepika and me, just because we were new. She would speak to Shah Rukh in the same manner as well. I never saw any bias towards anyone.

Farah has a great understanding of the medium. She knew what she was making. She knew she was making a Bollywood masala movie, and how she should project the cast.