No 'Sultan' without Salman: Director Ali Abbas Zafar had decided

All set for his next big directorial release Sultan with Salman Khan, Ali Abbas Zafar said he wanted to make the film only with the superstar.

"I think I am fortunate enough to work with Salman sir. Whenever you write a character you visualise an actor thinking he can pull it off well. Our producer Aditya Chopra and I were very clear that we would do this film only if Salman sir agrees to do it," Ali told reporters here at the trailer launch of Sultan.

The Mere Brother Ki Dhulan director gave the star about 20 minutes of narration (of the film) and Salman told him that he relates to it.

"Whenever you go to a star with a character you think if the character justifies the stardom of the star. He has worked with so many directors... His career spans over 25 years so he has lot of experience and you can't ignore it," he said.

"There is lot of Salman in the film because his contribution to the text (story) is phenomenal. He never pointed bigger things to me he pointed smaller things. My learning from this film is that the depth of things lies in small things," he said.

The sports-drama is a story of the rise and fall of a wrestler from Haryana, essayed by Salman and has Anushka Sharma opposite him. "It is a fictional story. It is the story of an Indian, it is about relationship and sport is the backdrop of this film. One thing common about life and wrestling is that people fall but life is all about getting up and not giving up. This film is all about that," Ali said.

The film is produced by YRF Films and is Salman's annual Eid release set to open on July 6.