By Subhash K. Jha, IANS

The crisscross of stars from Govinda, Salman Khan, John Abraham to Priyanka Chopra, Juhi Chawla and Vidya Balan in "Salaam-E-Ishq" could've broken an average director's back, but Nikhil Advani is having a ball working with them.

He is enjoying every bit of it. Even the notoriously undisciplined Govinda seems to be giving Advani a splendid time.

"Govinda is like a dream," Advani raves. "He's on the sets on the dot and embarrassingly apologetic if he's a few minutes late."

In fact, initially, the second-time director - who made his debut with "Kal Ho Naa Ho" - was petrified about how to handle the vast cast.

"But it's like a cakewalk. No actor has given me any grief. I've already finished filming my portions with Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, also a part of the shooting required with Salman-Priyanka and Akshaye Khanna-Ayesha Takia.

"To watch these actors before the camera is an amazing experience. I'm like a child in a candy store greedily wanting more and more. And you know what? These guys are more than willing to deliver.

"We shoot in London, Australia and Sri Lanka. After that I'm done. I've been shooting all over north India and with Govinda and his South African co-star Shanon."

Considering how averse audiences are to cross-cultural romances, isn't Advani worried about how they'll take to the 'desi babu' Govinda's affair with 'firang' Shanon?

"It can't be avoided. It's an important track in my plot. I can only hope it works. I'm most certainly working hard to cover all my bases."

While Advani has his fingers crossed, many feel his film is bound to be affected by Salman's hair loss.

"Not at all!" the unfazed director comments. "Fortunately, for me, my dates with Salman and his co-star Priyanka were already slotted for foreign locations later during the year. So far, I've shot in Jaipur, Agra, Rishikesh, Delhi and Hyderabad. I never expected everything to go so smoothly for me."