On
Monday
night,
Aseem
Merchant
who's
shooting
in
Hyderabad
for
Boney
Kapoor's
Prabhu
Deva-directed
untitled
actioner,
got
the
surprise
of
his
life
from
his
co-star,
Salman
Khan.
"He
made
a
sketch
of
me.
It's
so
beautiful,
so
life-like
and
professional;
I
feel
Salman
can
shape
into
one
of
the
best
artistes
in
the
country."
Salman
and
Aseem
play
antagonists
in
the
film.
“The
film
is
about
modern
gangs.
Salman
plays
an
undercover
cop
while
I
play
a
gangster.
So
during
most
of
the
day
we're
fighting
each
other
on
camera.
At
night,
we
caught
up
for
drinking
sessions.
So
it
was
on
Monday
night.
We
sat
together
at
9
pm
and
went
on
till
2
am.
It
took
Salman
a
good
two
hours
to
make
my
sketch.
At
the
end
of
it
I
felt
like
I'm
the
richest
man
in
the
world." Aseem
intends
to
frame
the
sketch
in
his
room.
"I
don"t
know
how
many
others
have
this
gift
from
Salman.
But
I
certainly
feel
privileged."
The
shooting
of
the
Boney-Prabhu
Deva
collaboration
is
nearly
over.
Aseem
whose
career
has
been
in
a
state
of
suspension
for
many
years
is
suddenly
doing
quality
work.
"Besides
this
film
where
I'm
the
main
villain
I
play
the
lead
in
Sisir
Mishra"s
Bengali
film
Aseema."
No
fears
of
going
from
ultra-noble
in
Aseema
to
ultra-evil
in
Boney's
film?
"These
demarcations
exist
only
in
our
minds.
The
audience
readily
accepts
an
actor
in
negative
and
positive
roles."
Story first published: Thursday, December 20, 2007, 8:56 [IST]