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For a while now, Bollywood has accustomed itself to having tall actresses like Deepika Padukone and Kriti Sanon, while also having shorter actresses like Alia Bhatt. The balance is maintained and one wouldn’t likely lose out on an opportunity because of their height.

However, that wasn’t the case when Pooja Batra was doing films regularly. She had to go above and beyond to prove that she could star alongside actors despite being taller than they were. Interestingly, there was only one actor who was secure enough not to mind – Salman Khan.

© Instagram/poojabatra

When speaking with Harper’s Bazaar India, Pooja Batra talked about how it wasn’t easy for her to be an actress because of how tall she is. She’d have to do odd actions like splits just so she could be shorter or the same height as the actor she was starring alongside.

"It was tough. I remember I was told by Sangeeta Bijlani, ‘You don’t have a chance in the movies because you’re too tall.’ She’s my idol. She’s beautiful, and she’s a model too. I gave every role I got my best even though the heroes got intimidated because of my stature. It’s true I didn’t book a lot of movies because of my height. I lost out on a lot of good roles."

She continued, "I paved the way for tall actresses. Say thank you. I would do splits in front of the camera so that the heroes would look taller. I had to spread my legs halfway through the scene. Salman never had a problem. He was one guy who’d be like, ‘Wear your heels, I don’t have a problem.’ He’d be confident in his own skin."

Despite all the difficulties, there was always only one actor who didn’t shame her or make her feel bad for being tall. Salman Khan was so secure that he even encouraged her to wear heels alongside him because it didn’t matter if he appeared shorter than her on-screen.

The two of them worked together on Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaye in 2000 and although she worked with many other stars, he was the only one who stood confidently next to her.