Piyush Mishra Initially Chosen For 'Maine Pyar Kiya' Over Salman Khan

Salman Khan On Maine Pyar Kiya: The credit for Salman Khan's success in acting largely goes to his role as Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya. This role brought him overnight fame, paving his path in Bollywood and solidifying it over time. However, Salman Khan wasn't the first choice for the role. You might be surprised to learn who was!

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Yes, you heard it right! Salman Khan wasn't the first choice for Maine Pyar Kiya. Gangs Of Wasseypur actor Piyush Mishra was initially considered. Piyush was in his third year at FTII when Rajshri Production approached him.

In a recent interview, Piyush explained why he is glad he didn't get the part. He said, "It wasn't that I had become a star or I had landed that part. It was an early discussion, and I was majorly considered by Sooraj Barjatya's father (Raj Kumar Barjatya). He had come to meet me; he didn't cast me as such. I was in my third year when this happened."

Adding that many people wanted him to use this as an opportunity and claim the role was taken away from him for Salman Khan, Piyush said, "They wanted me to claim the role was taken away from me. But that isn't true. I went on to work a lot after that. If by chance I had landed the opportunity, I would have bagged that big a chance prematurely."

"I was a 26-year-old boy then; I could not have handled the success. Mera dimaag ud jaata (my mind would've blown). I would not have been able to handle that kind of stardom, and I accept it. I was not ready for it, so it is good this didn't happen with me," he added.

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Maine Pyar Kiya starred Salman Khan and Bhagyashree and delivered a huge hit that year.