Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who will be seen acting in forthcoming film "Shagird", helped actor Nana Patekar in essaying the role of a cop, thanks to his meeting with late encounter specialist Rajbir Singh.Kashyap had once met Rajbir Singh before his demise in 2008.

So when Kashyap got to know that ACP Hanumant Singh, Nana's character in the film is inspired by Singh, he helped in defining the character of the encounter specialist to his co-star.

"Shagird" will release May 13.

Kashyap, who plays a villain in the film, shared his experience with Singh and narrated his style to Nana so that he could get into the skin of the character, said a source.

Direcor Tigmanshu Dhulia said: "Yes, I am aware that Anurag had earlier met a few cops from crime branch of Delhi, including Rajbir Singh. But that was much before our shooting of film and not in connection with our film. Nana plays ACP Hanumant Singh in the film and we did a lot of research for this character."