Sriram Raghavan is all ready to team up with Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi for the first time on the edge of the seat thriller, Merry Christmas. It's being produced by Ramesh Taurani and the makers plan to shoot it extensively at a real location in Pune. However, very few know that Sriram's first choice on this film (much before any producer too came on board) was none other than Salman Khan.

"This is the second time that Sriram offered a film to Salman. Back in 2015, right after Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Sriram and Salman had met to discuss a potential collaboration on a thriller, but things didn't work out. For Merry Christmas, they met again as Sriram felt that Salman fit the bill. However, Salman and his team felt that this was too small a film for a superstar like him and politely refused the offer," a source told Bollywood Hungama. 

The source further added, "Salman loves Sriram's work and is equally eager to work with him. However, he wants to do something that's big and on the commercial side. Sriram too wishes to work with Salman once, but he wants to do something that presents him in a different light. Sriram felt that the character in Merry Christmas, though not as larger than life as what Salman Khan was portrayed in his films, had an element of style to it, which justified the presence of Salman."

Meanwhile, Sriram's next apart from Merry Christmas includes Ekkis with Varun Dhawan, which goes on floors in February 2022.

Also Read: Katrina Kaif all set to prep for Sriram Raghavan’s next, starts reading sessions