Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; June 6, 2017)

From watching Sridevi’s films during his stint at the National School of Drama (NSD) to working with her in Mom, it has been a dream come true for Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In fact, the opportunity of sharing screen space with the veteran diva was what prompted him take up the film. Nawaz reveals Sridevi not only helped perfect the nuances for his Mom act, but also for his other project — Manto — based on the controversial yet celebrated writer, Sadat Hasan Manto.

“She is hardworking, disciplined and always wants her co-stars to give their best. Even the simplest of her suggestions, be it change of expression of technique of dialogue delivery, could make a scene better than I had thought. Experience has its own value and that cannot be replaced. While shooting for Manto, I applied what she taught me. It was an exhausting schedule, but thanks to Srideviji, I could handle it patiently,” he says.

The fanboy used to binge-watch Sridevi’s films during his NSD days. “She did commercial films like Chalbaaz and Chandni and at the same time, we’d see her in a Sadma or a Lamhe. Her choice of films inspired me. Watching her face the camera is in itself a great lesson.”