Salman Khan and Ali Abbas Zafar photographed at the trailer launch of Sultan.
Mumbai:
Director Ali Abbas Zafar said that he feels fortunate to work with actor Salman Khan in his new film Sultan.
"I think I'm fortunate enough to work with sir (Salman). The most important thing is that when you write a character, you visualize an actor who can pull it through. When we wrote the script, Aditya Chopra and me were very clear that we will only make this film if sir agrees to do it," Ali said at the trailer launch of the film.
Ali, who has made films like Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Gunday, added: "The most difficult thing about the fact when you go to such a big star with a script is whether the character justifies the stardom of the star. When he heard the script in the 20-minute narration, he instantly said that it is something that he relates to. And that is where the journey of Sultan began."
Based on wrestling, Sultan is a "completely fictional story.""It is an Indian story. It is a story of a relationship. Sports forms its backdrop and the one common thing between life and wrestling is that in both, people fall but the name of life is to stand up and that's what the film stands for," said Ali.
What did Ali learn from Salman?
"The most important learning experience for me was that he has worked with so many directors and has a career which spans over 25 years. No one can beat that experience. There is lot of Salman in the film because his contribution to the text is phenomenal," said Ali.
"There are certain things which someone who has learned the craft over the years, seen and gone through so many texts, is able to understand. He didn't point bigger things to me, only smaller things. My learning from the film is that the depth of everything lies in the smaller things, not the bigger things," added Ali.
Sultan also stars Anushka Sharma and Randeep Hooda and will release on Eid this year.
"I think I'm fortunate enough to work with sir (Salman). The most important thing is that when you write a character, you visualize an actor who can pull it through. When we wrote the script, Aditya Chopra and me were very clear that we will only make this film if sir agrees to do it," Ali said at the trailer launch of the film.
Ali, who has made films like Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Gunday, added: "The most difficult thing about the fact when you go to such a big star with a script is whether the character justifies the stardom of the star. When he heard the script in the 20-minute narration, he instantly said that it is something that he relates to. And that is where the journey of Sultan began."
Based on wrestling, Sultan is a "completely fictional story.""It is an Indian story. It is a story of a relationship. Sports forms its backdrop and the one common thing between life and wrestling is that in both, people fall but the name of life is to stand up and that's what the film stands for," said Ali.
What did Ali learn from Salman?
"The most important learning experience for me was that he has worked with so many directors and has a career which spans over 25 years. No one can beat that experience. There is lot of Salman in the film because his contribution to the text is phenomenal," said Ali.
"There are certain things which someone who has learned the craft over the years, seen and gone through so many texts, is able to understand. He didn't point bigger things to me, only smaller things. My learning from the film is that the depth of everything lies in the smaller things, not the bigger things," added Ali.
Sultan also stars Anushka Sharma and Randeep Hooda and will release on Eid this year.
