Amitabh Bachchan and Prakash Jha on the sets of Aarakshan and (right) Super 30 founder Anand Kumar takes a class

Patna, July 31: Super 30 founder Anand Kumar has a few formulae for Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Saif Ali Khan.

The two actors do not want to crack IIT-JEE, as many of Anand’s students have. Prakash Jha, the director of Bachchan- and Saif-starrer Aarakshan, took a leaf out of the math teacher’s book to instruct them.

Both Bachchan and Saif play math teachers in the film. To get the nuances of how mathematics is taught, Jha closely observed Anand’s style. The director also took note of how Anand interacts with his students. Anand was invited to Mumbai, where he took a class that was recorded and used as reference.

“I wanted to get the feel of the teaching style of a mathematics teacher before directing my actors, who would do something similar in the film. I thought of Anand, as I know him. Super 30 has shaped the career of many students and helped them clear competitive examinations,” Prakash Jha told The Telegraph over phone from Mumbai today.

He added: “The process was rather enriching.” Jha, who found the right box office formula with his previous release Rajneeti, will hope that an eye for detail will boost the prospects of Aarakshan as well.

Anand said: “I got a call from Jha in February this year, after which I went to Mumbai. I had to take a class there, which was recorded on camera.”

He said in the course of shooting the mock class, a student came up with a solution of a given problem using a complicated method whereas he was supposed to provide a simpler solution.

This inspired a scene in the film that also stars Deepika Padukone, Manoj Bajpai and Prateik Babbar. It a socio-political drama that deals with the controversial issue of caste-based reservation in educational institutes.

Sources said Bachchan plays the principal of a private college, who, like Anand, also teaches students from financially weak background. In fact, Bachchan’s character is called Prabhakar Anand. Another inspiration perhaps?

This particular instance apart, Anand was also asked to explain to the students in the mock class various methods of approaching a problem and innovative ways of using formulae. This has also been used in the film.

Anand thanked Jha for giving him the opportunity to share his teaching style that would now be reflected on the silver screen. He said: “It is a great honour. I cannot explain my feelings in words.”

On being asked why he kept things under wraps for so long, Anand said: “I would not have spoken about it even now. However, my friends informed me that Mr Bachchan had spoken about me at a promotional event for the forthcoming film that was aired on a television channel.”