Delhi boy Sidharth Malhotra was all smiles while talking about his Bollywood journey in a candid interview with comedian Zakir Khan for Netflix’s YouTube channel. The 38-year-old actor’s latest release Mission Majnu has him in the role of an undercover agent on a mission to prove Pakistan’s secret nuclear power involvement. Starring Rashmika Mandanna as a blind woman who is married to Sidharth’s character, Mission Majnu is currently streaming on Netflix. Here are a few highlights from the 17-minute-13-second video released by Netflix India.

His first film that never got made

A 21-year-old Sidharth shifted to Mumbai from Delhi after signing a film that did not get made. “I stayed there (in Mumbai) for eight months, rehearsed there. Then they said, ‘Our director is making something else, so someone else will direct your film.’ I don’t know what struck me, so I said, ‘I don’t believe in this project anymore, I’m leaving,’” the actor revealed. After letting go of the opportunity, Sidharth was advised by his friends in Mumbai to start working as an assistant director, which led to him working with Karan Johar on the 2010 film My Name Is Khan.

Working as an assistant director on Karan Johar’s set

Sidharth started working as an assistant director on the sets of Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. “I was given the duty of the clap. Nobody had taught me how to do it, what to say. So I was holding the clap and I was so tense. I was repeating what I had to say in my mind and Shah Rukh sir was there. Sometimes I would forget to clap, sometimes I’d fumble,” said Siddharth. “Shah Rukh sir was very sweet. He noticed I was nervous and new and from Delhi. When he had a close-up shot and I would hold the clap at my chest level, not knowing that it wasn’t visible on the camera, he would move it up a little.”

This was Sidharth’s first job in Bollywood that led to him being cast in Karan’s Student of the Year alongside Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan in 2012.

Fanboying over Shah Rukh Khan

Sidharth remembered how awestruck he was on the first day of meeting Shah Rukh, on the sets of My Name Is Khan in Los Angeles. “It was his first day of shoot. We had already shot for three-four days and I had rehearsed my clap so that I wouldn’t fumble in front of him. On the first day, I couldn’t speak at all,” the Shershaah actor confessed.

Four hours later when Shah Rukh was having coffee during a break, Sidharth offered him biscuits as an excuse to talk to him. “He didn’t take any (biscuits) and I was a little sad that he didn’t. But as soon as we started shooting on location on a road, he suddenly started talking to me and said, ‘You know you should always come and see if you can use anything on location as a prop.’ Because he had found out that I wanted to be an actor,” added Sidharth.

The Student of the Year debutant also discussed Shah Rukh’s ingenuity on a film set. “He creates many things on the spot. From there, my respect for him, my love for him grew even more. If he said something while working, I would note it down. And then our relationship as an actor-AD (assistant director) also started developing. While shooting in Film City, there were many VFX underwater shots. Shah Rukh sir said, ‘Sid, come here. Note the VFX shots.’ I was so happy that he asked me. I asked for a paper and pen immediately and threw the clap away,” Sidharth joked.

Working with Rashmika Mandanna

Sidharth and Rashmika bond well both on screen and off it. An ardent K-pop fan, his Mission Majnu co-star taught Sidharth Korean gestures, including the Korean heart. Rashmika is popularly known as the national crush of India, and that’s something Sidharth agrees with. “The title of national crush is very apt because her smile is very beautiful,” nodded Sidharth.

Watch the full interview here: