‘You look like sh*t, but you can be an actor’: Salman Khan told Aayush Sharma in first meeting; asked Arpita, ‘Where did you find him?’

Interestingly, Aayush had already crossed paths with Sohail Khan before meeting Arpita. The two used to work out at the same gym, but Aayush eventually stopped going because he could no longer afford the membership.

When Aayush met Salman Khan

Their relationship remained under wraps for a while until one day Salman Khan walked in on them.

“We were just watching a film in her room when Salman bhai walked in and caught us together,” Aayush recalled. “I genuinely thought I was going to get beaten up. But he was very calm and civil about it.”

Soon after, Arpita told him that Salman wanted to meet him.

“I kept thinking, what do I even say to him? I couldn’t go there pretending to be successful. So when he asked what I do, I told him honestly — that I was a struggling actor, that I hadn’t achieved anything yet, and that I was considering opening a restaurant just so I could continue living in Mumbai.”

“He looked at me and said, ‘You can become an actor.’ That was the most beautiful moment of my life till then. No casting director had ever said that to me. No one believed in me — and here was one of the biggest stars in the country saying it after meeting me just once.”

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But Salman’s encouragement came with blunt honesty.

“He told me, ‘You’re in a bad state. You look like sh*t, you’re not trained enough. Just going to acting school won’t help, you need to work on multiple things.’”

During the conversation, Aayush also admitted that he wasn’t financially independent.

“I told him my father was still taking care of my expenses. I barely earned Rs 20,000–Rs 30,000 a month.”

Salman appreciated the honesty. “He even turned to Arpita and joked, ‘kahaan sey leke aai hai tu isko (Where did you find this guy)?’” Aayush said.

When Sohail Khan’s revelation shocked Aayush

Things took an unexpected turn when Sohail Khan entered the room.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Arre, you!’ I said hi, and he asked where I had disappeared all these years,” Aayush shared, referring to the time when they went to the same gym.

Sohail then pulled Salman aside for a quick chat. “They went into a room, and when they came out, they were laughing. Then they said, ‘Now you’ll have to work for free.’ I didn’t understand what was happening,” he said.

That’s when Sohail dropped the surprise.

“He told me he had wanted to launch me in a film called Punjabi Nikka. But when he tried to reach me, I had stopped coming to the gym,” Aayush revealed.

“I was shocked. I had been roaming around Andheri for years, struggling and giving auditions — and here was someone who had wanted to launch me, and I had no idea.”

Even Salman told Aayush that he had initially been interested in the project but stepped back after Sohail felt he was too old for the role. Aayush revealed that he and Sohail are currently working on the project.

Aayush Sharma eventually made his Bollywood debut with Loveyatri (2018), produced by Salman Khan Films. He was last seen in Ruslaan (2024).

Aayush and Arpita married in November 2014 at the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad. They have two kids Ahil and Ayat, born in 2016 and 2019 respectively.