Sooraj Barjatya's Maine Pyaar Kiya was Bhagyashree's first film in Bollywood and also Salman Khan's second movie. In a recent chat with Siddharth Kanan, Upasana Singh shared that she was originally the top pick for the lead role, but they decided to go with someone else due to her height.

Upasana Singh remembers how Sooraj Barjatya chose her for the main role in Maine Pyaar Kiya

Upasana remembered her first encounter with Sooraj Barjatya, the director of Maine Pyaar Kiya, when she got to Mumbai. He seemed pretty confident about her audition for Suman, saying, "You're good to go from my end, but you should meet my dad." She recounted how he later introduced her to his father, Raj Kumar Barjatya, but things didn’t go as she hoped. Raj Kumar wasn’t on board with her for the role, and they ended up not calling her back.

Fast forward a few years, while she was working on Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon with Rajshri Productions, Raj Kumar publicly admitted that Upasana was actually their first pick for Suman. She shared that he made this revelation in front of Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, and Hrithik Roshan, which caught everyone off guard. Upasana jokingly held him responsible for her not landing the role, to which Raj Kumar quipped that if he had picked her as the lead, she might have quit acting like Bhagyashree did.

Upasana Singh was replaced by Bhagyashree due to height

Upasana later shared that the main reason Raj Kumar Barjatya turned her down was her height. She mentioned that the filmmakers were looking for someone significantly shorter than Salman Khan to achieve the perfect on-screen chemistry. “He told me, ‘I’m not making excuses, but you’re taller than Salman. That’s why we didn’t choose you.’ But honestly, how am I taller than him? I’m 5'7", and even Sridevi was the same height and still acted alongside Salman. They just wanted someone shorter for the film, and it seems they weren’t kidding.” She humorously added, “So, it looks like Salman Khan is the reason I didn’t get to be in Maine Pyaar Kiya.”

Upasana Singh has made a name for herself in the TV and film scene with her performances in movies like Judaai, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Hulchul, Aitraaz, and shows like Bani - Ishq Da Kalma, Comedy Nights with Kapil, and Nadaniyaan, among others.

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