Randeep Hooda opens up on Salman Khan's 'Sultan' being similar to the 'Rocky' series

The "Sultan" trailer may have garnered over 10 million YouTube hits and was loved by fans and industry people, but it has drawn criticisms for the training montage, which, some have said is similar to those in Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky" series.

Randeep Hooda, who plays Salman Khan's MMA coach in the film, begs to differ. Clearing the air, the actor told Catch News that it's unfair to compare the films. "Sultan and Rocky are different stories, so I can't watch Rocky as a reference point for my character in Sultan. Of course one watches all kind of films, but there is no intention to be inspired by some other film," he further elaborated.

Randeep was in a terrible shape when he shot for "Sultan." He had just finished working on "Sarbjit" then; to look the part, he had lost 18 kilos in less than a month's time. His sister helped him with the physical transformation.

However, prepping for "Sultan" wasn't tough as all he did for it was to pass on the lessons he had learnt while filming for "Do Lafzon Ki Kahaan." "The sort of training I did in 'Do Lafzon Ki Kahaani' was enough for my character preparation in 'Sultan.' I did 'Sultan' when I was in the worst shape of my life i.e. after I shot for 'Sarbjit.' I think my character in Sultan has a back story. However, I am not allowed to talk about 'Sultan' right now," he added.

The sports-drama film, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, opens in theatres on Eid and stars Anushka Sharma as Salman's love interest in the film.