Salman Khan is taking his role as Sonakshi Sinha’s guardian angel very seriously. The actor and Shatrughan and Punam Sinha’s daughter have been shooting together for Abhinav Kashyap’s Dabanng in Wai. Salman is said to be monitoring every shot with hawk eyes to make sure Sonakshi lives up to everyone’s expectations.

The Sinha and Khan families are getting closer by the day, thanks to the paternal interest Salman is taking in Sonakshi’s career. For New Year’s, Shatrughan and Punam were at Salman’s farm in Lonavala along with Sonakshi. Salman’s also spreading the good word on the debutante actress’ talents and beauty to other producers, one of them being his new producer-compatriot Boney Kapoor. Last week, Boney drove to Wai to see Sonakshi shoot and has apparently decided to cast her either in Mr India 2 or Wanted 2, both featuring Salman.

The bright and confident young girl happily admits that Boney saw her rushes and was very happy. “But you’ll have to ask him if he’s signing me. At the moment I’m completely focused on Dabanng. It’s a crucial film for me, and for director Abhinav Kashyap and producer Arbaaz Khan. We’re all starting at the same time. Very nervous. But confident.” Salman, says Sonakshi, makes the task of acting easy for her. “He has seen me growing up. I never thought I’d one day be facing the camera with him. It was Arbaaz and Sohail who first spotted me and then recommended me to Salman.”

Sonakshi plays a Bihari girl in Dabanng, though she has been born and brought up in Mumbai. “I’ve spent a lot of time in Bihar. Though I’m half-Sindhi, the Bihari side of me is also very strong. I used to spend a lot of time in Patna when my daadi was there. And we haven’t really gone into a Bihari accent for the characters. Everyone speaks normal Hindi.”

Sonakshi’s happiest moment was a compliment from Salman. “He called me a one-take actor. That’s what they used to call my father. If I can be even 10 per cent of what he is, I’d feel I’ve done my parents proud.”