"Salman is a very genuine and nice guy to work with. We had a great time together. Since he is also into fitness, we used to spent most of our time in gym. He gave me some fitness tips and one of which was to turn non-vegetarian but I could not follow that," Sonu told PTI.
Both the actors are required to sport a tough look in the film, which is about crime and politics in UP and Bihar.
Sonu is playing a young politician in the movie while Salman will essay the role of a corrupt policeman. Arbaaz Khan is turning producer with the film, which will mark the acting debut of Shatrughan Sinha's daughter Sonakshi Sinha.
Talking about the current trend of six-pack abs in Bollywood, Sonu, who boasts of a good physique, said being fit helped him a lot in his acting career.
"I had six packs when I was in college. I never thought that I will be an actor someday but when I came into the industry I saw people working hard to achieve the chiselled look, which I already had. In fact, Salman told me 'You are one of the fittest person that I have come across in the industry'.
"I think those years that I spent working on my body helped me a lot. Today actors are required to look good but they don't have time. I feel blessed that I started too early," he said.
The 36-year-old actor says he is not playing the lead villain in the film but admits that his character has grey shades.
"Dabanng is about crime and mafia in UP and Bihar and I play a youth politician. I am not a villain but my character has some grey shades. Even Salman plays a corrupt cop while I am this guy who is working hard to beat the most powerful man in the city. It is about the fight for power," Sonu said.
The actor first found critical fame playing Aishwarya Rai's brother Sujamal in Ashutosh Gowarikar's magnum opus Jodhaa Akbar, and went on to star alongside Akshay Kumar in Singh Is Kinng and Rajshree productions Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi.
Sonu has also acted in Dubai based filmmaker Ali Mostafa sees Sood's film City of Life where he starred alongside British actress Natalie Dormer and UAE's Saoud Al Kaabi.
"The film is very close to my heart. It will be important for any actor to have that kind of international platform.
City of Life has opened me to a huge market overseas," he said.
