In an interview, Nikhil, asked about Salman's influence, said: "Before the making, I called him and said to him tell me what you want."

"I told him (Salman) if you don't sit on the edit, I cannot finish this film. You need to sit on the edit, to tell me what is right and what is wrong, what is working, what is not working," Advani said.

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"He (Salman) sat, he cut out 30 minutes of the film,. The film is now 2.04 hours. Someone recently asked me what is 'Hero' in one word and I said 'Salman Khan'," he added.

It was recently reported that Salman had not interfered in the creative process. So did this editing satisfy or dent Nikhil's confidence as a director?

"It totally satisfies me as a director. What it allowed me to do is while 'Hero' was being made, I also made 'Katti Batti'. 'Hero' is a producer's film, 'Katti Batti' is a director's film," said Nikhil.

The bond between Nikhil and Salman was formed when they had worked in 'Salaam-E-Ishq'. And Nikhil considers their friendship to be good enough to seek genuine feedback from him.

'Hero' starring Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty is releasing on 11 September.