Sultan was released in theatres on July 6, 2016, and was led by Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma.
However, what has recently been brought to light is that Anupria Goenka had given around 10 auditions for Anushka's role in the film. She candidly confessed how she wasn't a typical Yash Raj Films heroine, and hence eventually lost out on the role.
Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, Anupria said, "Maine Sultan ke liye audition kiya tha, main part. Tab voh log naye logo ko dhoond rahe the. Mere kuch 11-12 test hue the... pehle ek audition hua tha, phir doosra audition hua, phir there was a music video test, phir there was a dance test with Vaibhavi (Merchant), and then there were readings with Ali (Abbas Zafar)."
She added, "That one-month process was beautiful. Thankfully mere liye voh poora process ek mahine ka tha. Agar voh 6-7 mahine ya ek saal chalta toh insaan anxiety main hi reh jaata na... Jab tak main Ali se nahi mili, mujhe pata bhi nahi tha ki Sultan ki baat ho rahi hai because YRF main they don't give you the actual script. They give you some other script and they make you audition on that... It was only when I met Ali and he kept referring to 'Mr Khan', then I realised ki this is for Sultan and the main part."
Anupria also added that she is dusky and loves that about herself, but that does not qualify as the perfect YRF heroine.
Sultan who saw Anushka Sharma play the role of a wrestler was widely appreciated by the audience. The film went on to become a blockbuster.
Anupria has been a part of films like Tiger Zinda Hai, Padmaavat, and War. She was also seen in successful OTT series like Sacred Games and Criminal Justice.