"You do know that you can not touch me, right?“ those are the first words Iranian matinee idol Mohammad Reza Golzar mutters to Bollywood actress-producer Dia Mirza on the sets of their Indo-Iranian co-production, Salaam Mumbai. Dia protests with a laugh, “That's totally unfair. You cannot be that good looking and put a mandate on touching.“ She was quick to add that her husband, Sahil Sangha, who had exclaimed, “Damn, this guy is so hot“, when he first saw Reza's pictures, is celebrating the no-touch mandate of the Iranians.

It's the last day of the 40-day schedule at a Kandivali college and Reza admits, “There's no touching in the film since we are releasing it in an Islamic country but we've pushed the boundaries of filmmaking." He prophecises that Iran will fall in love with Dia, admitting that viewers back home love Bollywood.

The 42-year-old musician-actor's Farsi accent and piercing green eyes make him a hit with all the women on the sets of the Ghorban Mohammadpour directorial while Dia insists he's unassuming and his humility makes him even more gorgeous. Since his arrival in Mumbai, Reza hasn't had much time to explore the city. He did go to a Zakir Hussain memorial concert at Prithvi with Dia who also hosted a private dinner for him and accompanied him to a Blues festival full of skimpily clad models, bearded filmmakers and young guitarists. “Reza who plays 10 musical instruments is fascinated by the freedom we enjoy. Living without censorship is an eye-opener for him,“ reveals Dia.

Apologizing for coming across as a man of few words, Reza confesses that he is not comfortable with English or Hindi but promises that in a month he'll be walking and talking Indian. “I love Mumbai and Indian filmmakers are so professional and welcoming. I'm planning to immediately return, I have been offered a couple of Bollywood film scripts which I'm reading. Ten years from now, I see myself living in Mumbai as a Bollywood actor,“ he smiles.

Another Iranian, Behrooz Chaihel, who plays Dia's Indian brother in the film and disapproves of her relationship with Reza's character, is also the executive producer and the force behind this international collaboration. He is also Reza's interpreter and reveals that they are bothered by the growing heat and miss ghar ka khana. “We've been binging on reshami kebabs because that's the closest thing we find to Iranian cuisine here. My mother is Punjabi and father a Farsi which is why I've been pushing for this one-of-a-kind collaboration for a year. Reza is a superstar and this will make the film a top grosser back home,“ he beams as Reza blushes.

Iran is known for its art-house films which win accolades at Berlinale and Cannes but this one is an entertainer about an Iranian who falls in love with an Indian medical student. “The shots are called 'plans' and the units are really small, there are no multiple takes,“ Dia smiles, while Reza adds that characters speak three languages - English, Hindi and Farsi. “I have a couple of lines in Hindi too.“

The Iranian unit flies back on March 25. Dia, along with Poonam Dhillon and Gulshan Grover, will fly down to Iran for the promotions.“I'm hoping to travel through Tehran and discover Persian poet Hafez's work which I grew up reading,“ she admits, while, Reza hopes to catch some Bollywood films before flying back. “But not the ones with cars flying and people dancing, I'm looking for Bollywood love stories.“

Internationally acclaimed film maker Majid Majidi is currently in Mumbai with a choc-a-bloc schedule. Apart from starting research on his next film, his itinerary includes meeting the cast of Salaam Mumbai, an Indo-Iranian production featuring Dia Mirza and Iranian actor Reza Golzar. He is also attending a screening of Akbar Khan's 2005 historical-drama, Taj Mahal, today in Juhu along with Masood E Khaleghi, the Consul General of Iran. Akbar confirmed the news, saying, “The Iranian unit of Salaam Mumbai is almost done with the shoot. I was asked to co-produce the film but things didn't work out. I did, however, promise to assist them with anything they needed. I was at a dinner party with the film's director, Ghorban Mohammadpour, Reza and Dia, at the Consul General's residence, when the trio requested me to organise a screening of my film. I'm happy to know that the world-renowned filmmaker Majid Majidi will also attend the screening.“ Majidi had told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2013 interview, “I've always wanted to shoot in India as I've always felt that both Iran and India have the same cultural sensibilities."

Her last Hindi film was Love Breakups Zindagi in 2011. A year later, she featured in a Bengali film, Paanch Adhyay. After that she'd been busy playing the hand-on producer on her second film, Bobby Jasoos. “But once we locked the script of the third film, I told my manger I was open to acting offers,“ reminisces Dia Mirza.

Within a week, she got a call from Dr Ali Irani, Shah Rukh Khan's surgeon, saying that Iranian director Ghorban Mohammadpour and producer Javad Norouzbegi, who collaborated with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Majid Majidi for The Song of Sparrows, were really keen to cast her in their Indo-Iranian collaboration. The actress asked to see the script and loved the story of two medical students from two different parts of the world finding love.

“They are honest filmmakers and tell pertinent stories about a culture we are unfamiliar with. We were to start shooting Salaam Mumbai last year but they could come down only in January. It's fascinating shooting with a crew drawn from India, Los Angeles and France,“ says Dia, admit ting that she was nervous about facing the camera after the years but the simple, romantic scene went off smoothly.

However, it was different from shooting a Bollywood film because of the strict censorship rules that inhibits Iranian cinema. “The women have to wear a hijab and at a time when physical demonstrations of affection are common in Hindi cinema, in this film I cannot touch my co-star. These are things we take for granted here,“ points out Dia, who even though her lines are in Hindi and English, is hoping to pick up a little Farsi during the 30-45-day shoot in Mumbai. “The director is the one who really wanted me, having loved me in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and Love Breakups Zindagi. He doesn't know English and has to communicate through an interpreter and so do some of the cast and crew members. Language is not a barrier but knowing it will make things easy.“

She's been cast opposite Iranian star Mohammad Reza Golzar whom she describes as “affable, generous and grounded“ despite the fan following he enjoys in his home country. “Ever since the news leaked out, his fans have been flooding my Instagram timeline with pictures of the two of us,“ she smiles. Meanwhile, Dia is working on two productions, both of which will be international collaborations being made for the international market and for premier festivals. “I can't reveal any details but they are socially relevant stories and should touch a chord with audiences everywhere,“ she signs off.