February 19, 2026 07:04 pm (IST)
Follow us:
When you first meet Salman, it has to be something hatke: Anushka Sharma
Mumbai, June 23 (IBNS) Ahead of the release of Sultan where she is paired opposite Salman Khan with both playing wrestlers, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma says meeting the megastar was something not too casual.
"While I had met Salman socially a couple of times, I didn’t know him at all. I met him for the first time when we did a photoshoot to announce the film," she says in an interview to DNA.
"He waas working out at the YRF gym when I walked in and he was lying down on the ground and looking up. When you see Salman for the first time it has to be something hatke. It can’t be a standard thing of him standing and us saying hi/hello," recalls Anushka.
Asked how much she did she push herself for Sultan, she says: "If you have to play a wrestler on screen, you obviously know it’s going to be hard, but this was especially hard because I had very little time to do what I had to do. I had less than six weeks to prep before they began shooting my first bout as Arfa.
"There was a time crunch and I had a lot to do. I was also working with a disadvantage of the same perception that people have in their minds about what wrestlers look like."
"That most wrestlers are big and bulky. Then, I started researching and realised that there are different categories of wrestlers. Not everyone is in the same height or weight class. People fight in different weight classes. I researched some international and really tall and lean female wrestlers. The idea was to find someone with my body type. I found them quite toned and decided that was the way to go."
"I started working towards that. I was already working with a physio and trainer because I had a nagging back problem after NH10, so I had to be guided properly. My training for Sultan was hectic. At one point, I was doing 50-kg deadlift and 40-kg front squats, which is supposed to be great."
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Alia Bhatt to present at 79th BAFTA Awards; to join Cillian Murphy, Kate Hudson, among others
Tue, Feb 17 2026
Feb 26 wedding? Viral invite sparks buzz around Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna
Mon, Feb 16 2026
Harvard India Conference: Shashi Tharoor praises Priyanka Chopra for making country proud, actress responds
Mon, Feb 16 2026
O'Romeo thrives on silence and unsaid emotions: Shahid Kapoor; Triptii Dimri calls it a dream come true
Fri, Feb 13 2026
Taapsee Pannu on her hat-trick collaboration with Anubhav Sinha: ‘His films are dramatically real’
Thu, Feb 12 2026