Nikkhil Advani says Salman Khan refused to come to set at 5 am for Salaam-E-Ishq shoot. Here’s how he finished the scene | Bollywood

Nikkhil Advani worked with a huge ensemble cast in Salaam-E-Ishq. The 2007 film starred Salman Khan, Govinda, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan. In an interview with Mashable India, Nikkhil opened up about the process of shooting the song and managing his best with so many actors. The director said that Salman Khan had refused to come for an early morning shoot, so he had to come up with a different technique to manage it. (Also read: Nikkhil Advani admits he bullied Karan Johar in school: ‘Today he can…’)

What Nikkhil said

During the interview, Nikkhil said, “We kept Salman awake for the whole night because he said that I can’t come at 5 in the morning. ‘Either sit with me and I will go to sleep straight at 10 AM’! So, we stayed awake, took him, shot, finished shooting and then he went to sleep. For me, it has always been about finishing the day quickly.”

On working with newcomers

Nikkhil, who has worked with stars as well as newcomers in his films, also opened up about knowing which actor is fit for a role. When asked by host Mukesh Chhabra how he knows whom to take on for a role, Nikkhil added, “Mostly when the actor is coming through a casting process, people like you [Mukesh Chhabra] already know that they are not going to send some rubbish people. Like Chandan Roy Sanyal in D-Day, in one second you go ‘superb!’ So I have full trust in the process like I trust my DoP, I want to trust my casting director in the same way.”

Nikkhil’s last directorial feature was Vedaa, starring John Abraham and Sharvari in lead roles. He also made the show Freedom At Midnight, an epic political thriller that captures the dramatic and defining events surrounding India’s independence in 1947. The show starred Sidhant Gupta as former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the lead.