Shah Rukh Khan invited Alia Bhatt to his home to teach her how to lip-sync, helping her prepare for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’s Tum Kya Mile song, the actress revealed at a media event in Mumbai on Thursday.

“I was really nervous. I was resuming work after a couple of months. For the first time, I was doing a proper song after Ishq Wala Love. I realised that I could do better. So, I told Karan. He told me that I should speak with Shah Rukh and that he'll share some tips. I called him and talked on the phone,” she said.

The actress said she wanted to take lessons from the Pathaan actor as he was the best when it comes to lip-syncing. “I wanted to understand the matter from him because nobody lip-syncs like him. He told me, ‘You just come home. Suhana also wants to learn. I will give you both tuitions together, you just bring the song’,” she added.

Alia recalled that she was there for two or three hours practising alongside Suhana and that Shah Rukh had learned the song by the end of their training session. “The way he broke it down...he even downloaded some apps. He said ‘Do this again and again’. He learned the song by the end of it. It shows how large-hearted and generous that man is. He’s so wonderful and ever willing to help! That experience will be irreplaceable in my life,” she said.

The team of Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, led by the director, attended the media event, which was held to celebrate its success. Karan thanked everyone for showering their love for the film. He even joked about not being the “critics’ darling” before thanking the critics for rave reviews.

When asked about the Kathak scene where Ranveer and Tota performed on Dola Re Dola, the My Name Is Khan director quickly responded by saying that talent has no gender. “It was a homage to Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Both Ranveer and Tota performed the song brilliantly. In this day and age, gender roles have no defined meaning. Talent has no gender, if you have talent, you can do anything irrespective of your gender.”

Veteran actors Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi’s kissing scene in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani has garnered a lot of attention from the audience. When Dhamendra was asked about it, he came up with a cheeky response, “Bahut mazaa aaya (It was a lot of fun),” before clarifying that he was talking about the film.

Released in theatres on July 28, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani has already grossed over Rs 138 crore at the worldwide box office.