Kriti Sanon, who recently had a major box office hit with Tere Ishk Mein, will complete 12 years in the industry next month. The actor’s debut film 1: Nenokkadine, the Mahesh Babu starrer, released in January 2014. During a recent interview, Kriti Sanon recalls her memories shooting for the film, sharing how she discovered Mahesh Babu’s fandom gradually, and why Sukumar cast her in the film.

Speaking to Baradwaj Rangan, Kriti recalled learning about Mahesh Babu’s star status as they shot for their film. She added, “I didn’t watch Telugu film then, I had grown up entirely on Hindi films. So when I met Mahesh Babu, I met him like a normal person in a chill manner, like one would a senior. I didn’t know the craze of it.”

Kriti also recalled having a ‘kind team’ led by her director Sukumar, whom she described as ‘lovely and transparent.’ “He cannot lie, he cannot fake it, and I love that about him.”

Speaking about interesting challenges on the shoot of 1: Nenokkadine, Kriti mentioned that Sukumar would write dialogues on the set, and she would get them on the morning of shoot. Kriti added, “Sukumar sir would tell me, ‘You know you are a good actor. But another reason I’ve cast you is because you have a good memory.’ I think my engineering background helped me there.”

1: Nenokkadine, which released on the occasion of Sankranthi, received mixed reviews from both critics and audience. A few months later, Kriti Sanon made her Hindi film debut with Heropanti (2014), and did only one Telugu film later on — Dohchay, which starred Naga Chaitanya opposite her.