Though Sooraj and Athiya are kids of Salman’s close friends, Aditya Pancholi and Sunil Shetty respectively, the fathers didn’t have a say in their launch. And it was Salman spotting potential in them, the reason why he decided to launch them.
Sooraj said: “I was working with Kabir Khan on ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ where I met Salman sir. And after shooting for 6-7 months in Turkey, the film was about to get completed. He came in my room at three on the night of my birthday and pulled me into his room and gave me a birthday gift which was ‘Hero’.”
Explaining how she got the role, Athiya said: “I used to go to the gym in Bandra where I came across Salman sir’s sister. And she told him about me and anyway they were looking for an actress opposite Sooraj. He spoke to papa (Sunil) and the next thing I know is I’m on the sets of ‘Hero’.”
‘Hero’, a remake of the 1983 film, is being produced by Salman Khan and Subhash Ghai and is directed by Nikhil Advani.