Abhay Verma reveals the advice Shah Rukh Khan gave him on King: He said, ‘Although the times were different, just…’ | Hindustan Times

Currently riding high on the success of Operation Safed Sagar, actor Abhay Verma is looking to end his year on a professional high with the release of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer King, and he feels there couldn’t have been a bigger milestone. “I've got to work with Shah Rukh sir, Abhishek (Bachchan) sir, Rani (Mukerji) ma’am and all these personalities I have idolised. There's a temple in my heart and all these people reside in it,” he says. Crediting Khan for being his source of inspiration, the actor says, “I saw dreams because of him. So, to come on the same screen with him was more than a dream. I didn't know it would come true so early, but just to be on the screen and make my work reach to Shah sir, it meant more than anything to me.”Recalling a piece of advice that Shah Rukh Khan gave him, Abhay Verma shares, “Every word that comes off the legend's mouth just becomes legendary. I had asked him how did you choose your early films, to which he said, ‘Although the times were different, just work with people who love you and who you love’.” The actor adds that it also complements his own philosophy as an actor. “I have taken my acting as democracy: to the people, by the people, for the people,” he says. Reflecting on Khan’s approach on sets, Verma shares, “He just takes a chair, sits in the corner without disturbing anyone and sees how things are happening, how cinema is taking place. Even despite his injuries, or if he's feeling unwell, how he just gives everything, there's lots of learning from it.”The actor also remembers a kind gesture by Bachchan during the shoot: “One day he was getting ready, and I told him that my family is in my van, so whenever he had two minutes, if he could let me know, I'll just bring them to him. He just stood up and walked to my van. He met my mom and said, ‘Hi, my name is Abhishek Bachchan and I'm working with your son in King’.” Apart from King, Verma also has Laikey Laikaa and a film with Shanaya Kapoor in the pipeline, and with all his work, he hopes to break his ‘chocolate boy’ image. “My biggest success would be that I break my image with every character that I play. I want my characters to live longer than me. I really don't want any image associated with me,” he ends.