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.”

The last time we saw them together on screen, it was for Manoj Kumar's Santosh in 1989. Now Shatrughan Sinha and Hema Malini are back together on television show 'Dus Ka Dum' apparently on Shatru's insistence.

Salman Khan's very popular game show 'Dus Ka Dum' has bonus guests. In an additional episode that was shot on Sunday (August 30), Salman brought two of his favourite people Shatrughan Sinha and Hema Malini, both BJP workers, together for what turned out to be quite a show of strength.

And Shatru dressed in a long- flowing Sherwani was playfully asked by Salman if this was the Nehru code of dressing. The actor never short of retorts replied, "No nowadays it's known as the Jinnah code of dressing." This was an obvious reference to the BJP's current claim to controversy for expelling Jaswant Singh from the party for writing a book on Jinnah.

When asked about the incident, Shatrughan Sinha laughed, "Yes, this did happen. I did refer to my dress code on 'Dus Ka Dum' as the Jinnah style of dressing. Salman had been keen on inviting me and Hemaji together for a long time. We decided to go on the show as the grand finale."

Speaking out for the first time on the Jinnah controversy, Shatrughan Sinha says, "I've so far kept quiet. But now I'll say this much. How can a senior member of a party be expelled for writing a book which no one had written? And how can a politician not be allowed to have a personal ideology? I play so many roles. If tomorrow after watching me play a dacoit, some youth decides to rob a bank, does it mean I should give up acting?"

Reverting to 'Dus Ka Dum' Shatru says, "I was asked which is my favourite party. I said when I'm invited to Hemaji's house, I love the tea party that we have. When I'm invited to her other half Dharamji's home, I love the drinking party there. So it's all very flexible."

The Shatru-Hema episode of 'Dus Ka Dum' will be aired as the grand finale. "When it's me and Hema it cannot be anything less," is Shatru's parting shot.