Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui met filmmaker Anurag Kashyap for the first time on the set of Shool (1999), and their first interaction was the latter dissuading him from taking up the job he was there for. “Anurag had seen my work in Sarfarosh (1999) and he told me to not do Shool, as it was a small part. He wanted me to wait for a bigger role, but I had to take it up as I needed work,” says Siddiqui, as he talks about his bond with Kashyap ahead of Friendship Day tomorrow.

Talking about their equation, the 50-year-old adds, “When we met for the first time, I felt, ‘Yeh meri vibe ka banda hai’. I had this feeling that he would always take care of me. There was that connection, as he gives off such positive energy.”

Siddiqui feels what sets their friendship apart is a balance between work and personal equation. “I have never asked Anurag for work. Hamari industry mein jab kaam waali dosti hoti hai, tab differences aane start ho jaate hain. Par Anurag ko mujhse aur mujhko Anurag se laalach hi nahin hai kisi cheez ka,” says the actor, who had a ball collaborating with Kashyap, 51, on Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012).

Ask if they ever had any creative differences while working together, and Siddiqui shares, “Creative differences are always there, but mazaa tab hi hai jab mil kar ek raay par pahuchein. Jab main chaaron taraf se phans jaata hoon, I go to Anurag for advise, and he always pulls me out of it.”

Is there anything about Kashyap that he’d like to change? “Carelessness,” says the actor, adding, “He is very careless when it comes to his health.”