She was only 17 when discovered by Salman Khan, was raised in Muscat and compared to Aishwarya Rai
This actress was compared to Aishwarya Rai after her debut film with Salman Khan. She quit Bollywood and moved to Telugu film industry after her first two Hindi movies were massive failures.
From Bhayashree in Maine Pyar Kiya to Zareen Khan in Veer and from Daisy Shah in Jai Ho to Hazel Keech in Bodyguard, there have been many actresses who have made their Bollywood debut opposite Salman Khan and haven't had a successful career in films. Another addition to the list is Sneha Ullal, whose first film was the romantic drama Lucky: No Time for Love, in which she was paired opposite the superstar.
Born in 1987 in Muscat and brought up in the same city, Sneha did schooling in Oman and moved to Mumbai later. She was doing her graduation from Vartak College in the Maharastrian capital, where she met Salman's sister Arpita Khan and became friends with her. It led to a chance encounter with Salman, who was looking to find a new heroine after his much-publicised breakup with Aishwarya Rai and decided to launch Sneha with the 2005 film Lucky.
The film performed poorly at the box office. In her second release, Sneha was paired opposite Salman's brother Sohail Khan in the 2006 sports drama Aryan, which was a massive failure. After early setbacks in Bollywood, the actress moved towards the Telugu film industry where she found success. Sneha worked in a few successful Telugu movies in the next few years before disappearing into oblivion.
Sneha has often talked about her comparisons with Aishwarya Rai. While speaking to IANS, she said, "I am so comfortable in my own skin and all those comparisons didn’t bother me. Also, that was also their PR strategy on how to describe me. That thing actually emphasised the entire comparison. Otherwise, it may not have been such a big deal." She told Hindustan Times, "I am a big admirer of Aishwarya Rai for her work and achievements in the film industry but to be very honest I am not really happy being compared to her for my looks. I want to have my own individuality. What can I do if I look like her? I don’t want to be so but can’t change my looks now. I love to be known and recognized for my own work and achievements."
Sneha Ullal was last seen in a thriller series titled Expiry Date on ZEE5 in 2020. It was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi languages and also starred Tony Luke, Madhu Shalini and Ali Reza in the leading roles.
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