Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 7, 2019)

Guess who’s the happiest person in Bollywood right now? Well, Disha Patani might probably top the list, considering that she has bagged her second film opposite Salman Khan, his upcoming Eid 2020 release, Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai! When we ask her about how it all happened and how she got to share screen space with him again so soon after Bharat, the 27-year-old actor gushes about Salman being one of the best people she has “ever come across”. Excerpts from a chat:

You have maintained that your Bharat co-star, Salman, is like Santa Claus. Now you’re set to share screen space with him again. How did it all happen?
I’m super excited to share screen space with Salman sir again, and that too in a different avatar. He’s like Santa Claus in so many ways; he brings joy and happiness to his fans all across the world, and not only that, this year he has the perfect Christmas gift. I was approached for the role in the production and I was both very happy and excited. I feel very fortunate to have got this opportunity.

What’s the best thing about working with the superstar?
There’s too much in there for me to choose one to be honest. Salman sir is one of the most humble and kind people I’ve ever come across. There’s this aura about him that makes you feel comfortable around him even though he’s one of the biggest superstars in India. Watching him work is nothing short of inspiring. So to sum up, I can’t decide on any one specific thing!

Till this point, you’ve done massy, masala films like M S Dhoni - The Untold Story (2016), Baaghi 2 (2018) and Bharat, but you’re balancing it with a content-driven, small-town located film like Ktina. Was it a conscious decision to shake up things?
Be it masala films or content-driven cinema, both have their unique benefits and I want to learn not one, but all aspects of it. So in a way, it has always been somewhere at the back of my mind that I don’t want to stick to one kind of films.

You’ve worked with both young stars like Tiger Shroff and veterans like Salman. Is there any difference you’ve noticed while working with the younger lot and the experienced ones?
An actor is an actor, irrespective of their age, and every one of them is unique. All of them have their own special skill sets.