"I think I am fortunate enough to work with Salman sir. Whenever you write a character you visualise an actor thinking he can pull it off well. Our producer Aditya Chopra and I were very clear that we would do this film only if Salman sir agrees to do it," Ali told reporters here at the trailer launch of "Sultan" last evening.
The "Mere Brother Ki Dhulan" director gave the "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" star about 20 minutes of narration (of the film) and Salman told him that he relates to it.
"There is lot of Salman in the film because his contribution to the text (story) is phenomenal. He never pointed bigger things to me he pointed smaller things. My learning from this film is that the depth of things lies in small things," he said.
The sports-drama is a story of the rise and fall of a wrestler from Haryana, essayed by Salman and has Anushka Sharma opposite him.
The film is produced by YRF Films and is Salman's annual Eid release set to open on July 6.