It’s not easy to hold your own when surrounded by established actors like Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni. But Abhay Verma, all of 22, makes it seem like a cakewalk in The Family Man 2. The actor is winning praise for his portrayal of Salman, who uses the alias Kalyan to get closer to Bajpayee’s on-screen daughter in the show. “I connected with Kalyan; Salman is ruthless and malicious. My character is in constant conflict; should he follow the mission or his heart?”

The actor adds that creators Raj-DK (Krishna DK, Raj Nidimoru) and co-director Suparn Varma took him under their wing after he was selected from the auditions. “It was because of their inputs that I was able to pull off the subtle differences between Kalyan and Salman.”

Quiz him on sharing screen space with Bajpayee, and he says that he hopes to imbibe the senior actor’s ability to shake off a character. “Before we were to shoot a scene, he was jolly and chatty. But as soon as the camera rolled, he transformed. As I am new to acting, I need 15 minutes before an intense scene to get the hang of it,” says Verma, who will next be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali-backed Mann Bairagi.