There’s no taking away from the fact that his female fans find him extremely hot. Tell him that and he instantly perks up. “Oh wow, it makes me extremely happy. Initially, I was a bit unsure where all of this was coming from. I used to get a lot of love for my characters like Kiddo from Dear Zindagi but I think I started experiencing this kind of fanfare after Mismatched. It took me a little time to come to terms with the fact that I’m now someone who is loved by those many people. Over the years, I’ve started to use it as my strength, I’ve started to use it as something that drives me to work harder.”

His penchant for diverse roles, from The Sky Is Pink to Vikram Vedha, highlights his courage to experiment early in his career. Talking about Vikram Vedha, he recalls that there was a huge gap between his audition and his selection for the role. He was shooting for Mismatched Season 2 when he got to know he was selected for Vikram Vedha. “I remember freaking out because I’m literally in almost every scene in Mismatched 2, so it’s not like they can shoot without me. The next day I go on to the set and my director, Akarsh Khurana, waves at me. He’s on the phone and after the call he says Hrithik Roshan just called him for my dates. So Hrithik Sir pushed the entire schedule by a week so that I could be a part of it.”

Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, to Rani Mukerji, Priyanka Chopra Jonas to Alia Bhatt, he has rubbed shoulders with the best of them in his career so far. Reflecting on his experiences with stars like Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Saraf fondly recalls, “Alia was quite young when we were doing Dear Zindagi. She was incredibly sweet and kind. For a 19-year-old who had not been on a big set before, it mattered a lot. I’d seen her work in Highway and I couldn’t believe how phenomenal an actor she was.”

Unfortunately, Rohit didn’t have many scenes with Shah Rukh Khan in Dear Zindagi but he distinctly recalls an unforgettable moment involving SRK at the screening of Hichki. Around 2:45 AM, out of the blue, Shah Rukh walked into the party, leaving Rohit utterly surprised. “I was mesmerised when I saw him walk into that party,” Rohit recounts. “Even though I had met him before, seeing him that night felt like meeting him for the first time all over again. It was incredible.”

Driven by admiration, Rohit decided to approach Rani, seeking an introduction to Shah Rukh Khan. “Ma’am, could you please introduce me to Shah Rukh Sir?” he asked. Rani graciously led him over and said, “This is Rohit, he’s part of our film.” Shah Rukh Khan remembered that he was part of Dear Zindagi too.  “That moment,” Rohit says, “When he remembered me from Dear Zindagi, I was taken aback. I’ve always admired him since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and having a picture with both of them together meant so much to me.” Priyanka Chopra helped him overcome his stage fright when he was doing promotions for the first time ever for the film The Sky Is Pink.

Facing a crowd of 15,000 at the Amity University left him unnerved. It was an overwhelming sight he had never encountered before. PC, who was running late from an interview, reached out to him over the phone. Her reassuring words guided him through the nerves. ‘This will be your first solo appearance on stage,’ she told him. ‘I’ll join you later but for now, you need to engage the audience and keep their spirits high.’ He couldn’t believe the challenge before him – to entertain a roaring crowd who were eagerly awaiting her arrival. Doubt crept in but her encouragement was unwaveringly kind.

He’s over the moon about the fact that he’s going to work with the acting institution called Kamal Haasan in the upcoming film Thug Life. Saraf says he can’t believe he’d be sharing screen space with the master. “I was shooting for Mismatched Season 3 in Hyderabad and I randomly got a call from Bejoy Nambiar. He told me what Thug Life was all about and said they wanted to do a look test. So the audition script was sent to me. Prajakta (Koli) and Muskan, my friend, helped to shoot it. I was locked in for the part the same day I announced the release date of Ishq Vishk Rebound. It was like a double celebration.”

His next, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. features an ensemble cast, including Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor in lead roles, alongside Sanya Malhotra, Maniesh Paul and Akshay Oberoi. He reveals that he loves being part of this Dharma film and counts it as a big opportunity. “I was just telling a friend this morning that I love going to this set because I feel that no matter what, when I come out of this project, I would have learnt something. I love the feeling of being on a set where it doesn’t feel like a job. Like yesterday, even after they said to pack up, I wanted to hang on the set for another half an hour. In an earlier interview with Filmfare, I’ve said I’m a huge fan of Varun Dhawan. It’s crazy fun being part of this film,” he gushes. He’s being extra humble and sanskari to boot but maybe that’s the way he rolls.