Not Anushka Sharma, but this actress was Ali Abbas Zafar’s first choice opposite Salman Khan in Sultan

Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma's pair in Ali Abbas Zafar's sports drama, Sultan, was much loved by the audience. The film went on to be a blockbuster. However, do you know that Anushka Sharma was not the first choice for the film?

Yes, Salman Khan revealed that before Anushka Sharma, another actress who has impressed the audience time and again with her performances, came to meet him with Ali Abbas Zafar, however, he thought Anushka would do the role better. 

During an episode of Bigg Boss 15, Shahid Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur came to Salman Khan's show to promote their film Jersey and at that time, Salman Khan said, "Let me tell you an interesting fact about her. The original star of Sultan was her. She came to the farm (house) to meet me. Ali (Abbas Zafar) had brought her. And that time she didn’t look like a pahalwan.”

He further added, "I thought in my mind that she doesn’t look like a pahalwan. Well, even Anushka (Sharma) didn’t look like one. But I knew she would do good.” Mrunal added, “Let me tell you Shahid, maine uss time bahut zyada wazan ghata liya tha (I had lost a lot of weight back then)."

Sultan is a sports drama helmed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films. The film starred Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma as wrestlers along with Kumud Mishra, Randeep Hooda and Amit Sadh in key roles. The film turned out to be a blockbuster and collected Rs 607.84 crore worldwide. 

Meanwhile, Mrunal Thakur, who started her journey in the television industry, has now become a star with her performances in movies like Sita Ramam, Hi Nanna, Super 30, and more. The actress is now all set to once again entertain the audience with her upcoming movie Family Star which also stars Vijay Deverakonda. The film is set to hit the theatres on April 5.