Newcomer Rahul Kohli who plays a brief role in director Farah Khan's Happy New Year was pleasantly surprised when he received a word of praise from none other than megastar Shah Rukh Khan.

`I've always been in awe and admiration of SRK and his movies and had never imagined I'd get a chance to interact with him or work under his banner. So when I got this offer for a little role in Happy New Year, I didn't look at the length of my role but just said yes to it,` he quips.

While shooting for HNY, Farah coaxed Rahul to show his six pack abs to Shah Rukh who had earlier flaunted a similar pack for the superhit song Dard-e-Disco in the gritty lady's movie Om Shanti Om. SRK praised Rahul which put him on cloud nine. `His appreciation means so much for a newcomer like me,` he adds.


Rahul hails from Australia and has studied acting at the Victorian College of Arts at University of Melbourne and refined his acting skills at the Barry John Acting Studio in India.

He will soon be seen in a lead role in Puneet Issar's Indo-British crossover film Born To Be King. `It's a challenging character and I am extremely grateful to Puneet who has put tremendous faith in my capabilities. I feel blessed to have makers like Farah and Puneet in my life,` beams the debutante.