Boy actor who plays the young Salim learns tips from his older avatar

Darsheel Safary, who plays the part of young Salim in Deepa Mehta's adaptation of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children turned to method acting to play his character.

Safary spent weeks with Satya Bhabha, the American-Indian actor who plays the grown up Salim, to get a hang of his character's grown-up body language and mannerisms.

Says Safary, "That's what Deepa aunty wanted. When I was on location in Sri Lanka, I became buddies with everyone in the unit. But I spent more time with Satya Bhabha because I was playing the younger version of his character. I had to get his body language and speaking method right. I didn't copy him, but I absorbed some of his mannerisms."

"I have two vacations coming up. And I'm hoping to use that free time to finish my work in Midnight's Children. Maybe even work on a new film," he adds.

Clearly, Safary's focus is on school. "I am in Class 9 and I need to concentrate on my studies. At the moment I can't think of any diversions."