Fatima Sana Shaikh (standing) and Sanya Malhotra will debut in 'Dangal' with Aamir Khan

Dangal has truly changed our life," says Fatima Sana Shaikh, 24, who makes her acting debut as wrestler Geeta Phogat in Aamir Khan Productions' Dangal, that releases on December 23. "It's been an experience we wouldn't have got as just actors. An actor's journey is confined to the sets, but we are also interning with AK (Aamir Khan), and hence we know things about filmmaking, why is what happening, scripts, camera…" "Yes, yes, or things like why a movie needs a background score," adds Sanya Malhotra, Shaikh's co-star, who plays her sister, wrestler Babita Kumari.

We are sitting on the sixth floor of a Carter Road high-rise talking to the two young actresses who are all the talk of the town right now. They both star in Dangal, a movie focusing on Mahavir Singh Phogat (played by Aamir Khan), who taught wrestling to his daughters Geeta Phogat (India's first female wrestler to win Gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games) and Babita Kumari (who won silver). They look younger than their 24 years, and much more delicate than the posters of the film, where they sport a boyish avatar. They talk of Khan like a mentor, and there are many AKs dropped through the conversation. "He knows everything!" exclaims Shaikh, "It's true what you hear." "Yes, he is truly cool and a really nice man. I mean we have become family – AK and us, Nitish Tiwari (who has written and directed the movie), Sakshi Tanwar – and I feel it's going to continue, this relationship, you know," says Malhotra.