Sonali Kulkarni essayed Salman Khan's mother's role in Ali Abbaz Zafar's Bharat. (PC: Sonali Kulkarni/Instagram/YRF YouTube)Actor Sonali Kulkarni, who played Salman Khan’s mother in the film Bharat (2019), has fond memories of working with the superstar. Although she had never met Salman before the film and most of her scenes were with the younger version of his character, Bharat, she was pleasantly surprised by his nature and the way he made everyone on set feel comfortable.Recalling her experience while speaking to Bollywood Bubble, Sonali Kulkarni said director Ali Abbas Zafar had explained how the flashback scenes would be important to the film’s storytelling, as they were Bharat’s core memories. While she was familiar with the younger Bharat’s portions, she did not know what to expect from Salman when they eventually worked together.“I had never met him, wasn’t friends with him. Most of my scenes were with the younger Bharat. My director, Ali Abbas Zafar had told me that the flashback scenes are going to matter a lot because they’ll keep popping up in between to smoothen the storytelling because they are Bharat’s core memories,” she said.Sonali admitted that she was particularly struck by how Salman Khan preferred to spend his time on the film’s sets. During the shoot of Bharat, the star had a chalet built next to the set and chose to stay there instead of travelling to and from Film City every day. “He belongs to the sets. During the shoot of Bharat, he had made a chalet for himself and was staying on the set. The chalet was built right next to the set, and he lived there. He didn’t even go home. He suggested that instead of getting stuck in the traffic enroute Filmcity, he would rather stay there,” Sonali recalled.Also Read: Priyadarshan says Akshay Kumar’s Hera Pheri 3 may never be made: ‘Too many complications’The Dil Chahta Hai actor also noticed the affection and respect Salman shared with the people working around him, including junior actors and dancers. Having started his career at a young age, the actor was completely at ease in the working environment, she said.“He is friends with all the junior actors, junior dancers. People really respect him, they love him, and you can feel, and understand that set is his home,” she added.Story continues below this adFor Sonali, this experience gave a new perspective about Salman Khan. She said he was comfortable on set and never seemed to be in a hurry. The two also got along well, and she even received an opportunity to ride Salman’s Being Human cycle.“I have spoken a lot with him, and the feather in the cap was that I got a ride on his Being Human cycle. I am among those rare ones, who was offered to take a ride on his cycle. So, I got along very well,” she said.Back then, the casting also drew attention because Sonali and Salman share a nine years age gap. Sonali will turn 52 next month, whereas, Salman turns 61 in December this year. Despite being younger than the actor she played the mother’s role of Janki Devi in Bharat.Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Bharat also starred Katrina Kaif, Disha Patani, Tabu, Jackie Shroff and Sunil Grover. Released in 2019, the film followed Bharat’s journey through different stages of his life against the backdrop of India’s history.