There was a time when Rani Mukerji didn't have the courage to "look into Aamir Khan's eyes" and now is a time when she "keeps gazing into his eyes until he asks me not to".

They worked together for the first time in 1998 release "Ghulam". At that time Rani was a newcomer and Aamir was already a star with hits like "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", "Dil" and "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander" to his credit.

After hit film "Ghulam", Rani-Aamir came together on screen after seven years for the not-so-successful historical drama "Mangal Pandey" and now they will be seen as a couple in forthcoming thriller "Talaash", their third film in 14 years.

Reminiscing her experience on the sets of "Ghulam", Rani said: "When I did my first film with him, I used to look at his shoes as I used to be all tensed and nervous. I was a huge Aamir Khan fan. I had a crush on him. When I had seen QSQT ('Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'), I was in school."

"I was very nervous while doing a romantic scene with him. I would look at his shoes because I couldn't look into his eyes because I feared I would fall in love with him," she said in a group interview.

"Now I look into his eyes. I keep gazing into his eyes until he asks me not to," added the actress who did a special appearance in Aamir-starrer "Mann".


The two enjoy a good friendship off the screen and Rani hopes it is for lifetime.

"Over the years, Aamir and I have built a friendship which, I would like to believe, is for life. I would like to believe that I will be attending his 80th birthday also," she said.

Rani, 34, is all praises for Aamir, 47.

"He was a superstar when I did my first film with him and he is a much bigger superstar even now. His focus, dedication and sincerity towards his craft, his approach towards filmmaking, performance and character, has become greater and bigger with time," she said.

"Talaash", directed by Reema Kagti, is hitting theatres Nov 30.