In an interview, Nikhil, asked about Salman's influence, said: "Before the making, I called him and said to him tell me what you want."
"I told him (Salman) if you don't sit on the edit, I cannot finish this film. You need to sit on the edit, to tell me what is right and what is wrong, what is working, what is not working'," Advani said.
"He (Salman) sat, he cut out 30 minutes of the film,. The film is now 2.04 hours. Someone recently asked me what is 'Hero' in one word and I said 'Salman Khan'," he added.
It was recently reported that Salman had not interfered in the creative process. So did this editing satisfy or dent Nikhil's confidence as a director?
"It totally satisfies me as a director. What it allowed me to do is while 'Hero' was being made, I also made 'Katti Batti'. 'Hero' is a producer's film, 'Katti Batti' is a director's film," said Nikhil.
The bond between Nikhil and Salman was formed when they had worked in 'Salaam-E-Ishq'. And Nikhil considers their friendship to be good enough to seek genuine feedback from him.
'Hero' starring Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty is releasing on 11 September.
