Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran on Wednesday said Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan texted him to ask whether his sister Nikhat Khan Hegde had performed well in his upcoming directorial "L2 : Empuraan".

Nikhat, who is Aamir's elder sister, plays a character named Subhadra Ben in the Malayalam movie fronted by Mohanlal.

Sukumaran said he was impressed by Nikhat's audition and didn't know she was Aamir's sister.

"I did not know she was Aamir sir's sister. I know Aamir sir quite well. When the audition tapes came through, I told Priyatama, my casting director, that 'I want her (Nikhat)'. She (Priyatama) said 'Oh yeah, she's wonderful. By the way, she's also Aamir sir's sister.' I said, 'Really?' Then I called Aamir sir...

"I just want to tell you he (Aamir) just messaged me asking 'Is my sister good in the film?' So, I said, 'Sir, she's a lot better than good'," the actor-director told reporters at the Hindi trailer launch of "L2: Empuraan".

Sukumaran also praised Nikhat, known for films such as "Pathaan", "Mission Mangal" and "Tanhaji", at the event.

"You're in my film for a very little while. But you know how important you are in the film. It was a privilege to have you on location," he added.

"L2: Empuraan" also stars Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas, Indrajith Sukumaran, Saniya Iyappan and Arjun Das. It is produced under the banner of Lyca Productions and Aashirvad Cinemas and slated to release on March 27.

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