Didn't want to demote myself by doing 'Sultan': Kangana Ranaut

Mumbai: Actor Kangana Ranaut on Friday said she turned down "Sultan" because she did not find the role interesting enough and felt it would have been a demotion for her.

Kangana was offered the role of a female wrestler opposite Salman Khan in the wrestling drama. Anushka Sharma later came on board for the film, which became a huge blockbuster.

When asked why she refused a film like "Sultan", which reached a wide audience, Kangana said, "Knowing today's times, I'll go for something which will stimulate my mind, otherwise, I'll be just sleep walking through the film. Sultan, at that point of time, though it was a great character for a girl to play, I didn't see anything for me in that."

The actor said the Ali Abbas Zafar-film was offered to her at a time when she had just done a highly successful and critically acclaimed double role in "Tanu Weds Manu Returns".

"Coming from a double role space and doing so much more in my earlier films, I didn't want to demote myself to something which wasn't offering me so much. That's why I didn't do it."

The actor was in conversation with film critic Mayank Shekhar at the Jagran Cinema Summit.

There were also reports that the actor was offered Aamir Khan-Amitabh Bachchan starrer "Thugs of Hindostan".

Kangana, however, denied the same and said she does not even "know what the script is."

The 30-year-old actor will next be seen in "Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi".

Directed by Krish, "Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi" will see Kangana in the role of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi.

Kangana says every character she has played has changed her in some way and her role in the next is no different.

"With Jhaasi Ki Rani, there was a fearless girl who set herself on fire for a cause. There is something so amazing about her, it's infectious. It makes you feel so small when you listen to her story.

"We are so possessive about these small achievements when people have let go of so much for a bigger cause. It does affect you. This character has shown me a side of me which I didn't know."

Her film "Simran" released today.