Priyanka Chopra takes tips from Shah Rukh Khan for upcoming role

Priyanka Chopra plays a mentally challenged girl in Anurag Basu's Barfee. And to prepare for the role, she's taking inputs from her favourite co-star, Shah Rukh Khan.

She will undergo a month of preparation, at least. The biggest challenge is playing her character without going over-the-top?

Her task becomes excruciatingly uphill because co-star Ranbir Kapoor plays a deaf-and-mute character. She doesn't want to play talkative to Ranbir's mute.

Khan help

She has begun visiting institutions for the mentally challenged.

Also, King Khan, who played a man stricken by Asperger's Syndrome in My Name Is Khan is helping her prepare for her part.

PC discussed her role with SRK on the sets of Don 2, and he has taken on the onus of providing Priyanka insights into troubled minds.

Says Priyanka, "Shah Rukh is so well-read. He is an encyclopedia of information. He's the most knowledgeable person I know on cinema and in life. And he brings great skill to his parts.

I've spoken to people who understand Asperger's and they tell me he got it pitch-perfect in My Name Is Khan. So yeah, in Barfee, I hope to make good use of the tips he has given me."

She also intends to keep him in the loop about her performance in Barfee. "If the character comes out right I'll have a lot to thank him for. I consider SRK one of the finest actors in world.

To be able to spend so much time with him both on and off camera is a blessing, " she says gratefully.