#3RoaringYearsOfEkThaTiger: Lesser known facts about the film

Ek Tha Tiger was one of the biggest hits of 2012, adding to Salman Khan's list of blockbuster movies. The film released during the Independence weekend and went on to rake in huge moolah at the box-office. Ek Tha Tiger made it to the coveted Rs 100 crore club within five days of its release. The movie was directed by Kabir Khan and starred Katrina Kaif opposite Salman Khan. As the film completes three years today, read on to know about some interesting facts about it...

It is a known fact that Salman Khan likes to paint in his free time and has also gifted several of his paintings to his friends from the industry. During the shooting of Ek Tha Tiger, too, he had done a similar thing. According to IMDb, in the scene where Tiger is seen painting Zoya, played by Katrina Kaif, an actual artwork by Salman is used. Apparently Salman Khan had painted the picture while the crew was setting up the cameras for the shoot. Salman sure knows where to show off his creative skills.

Ek Tha Tiger was produced by Yash Raj Films and they apparently wanted one of their favourite actors to take up the role. According to a report on Missmalini.com, Shah Rukh Khan was offered the role first. The report further states that SRK had to turn down the role as he had date issues. After Shah Rukh Khan declined the role, Salman Khan stepped in to play Tiger and the rest, as they say, is history.

The team of Ek Tha Tiger was shooting in Turkey for a long time and had found a very interesting hangout zone there. Apparently, after the completion of day's work, Salman Khan and the rest of the crew would visit Cafe Del Mar which was close to the shooting location. They would often visit this place and it became their favourite hangout place. And by the end of their shooting schedule, the cafe had gained popularity as Salman Khan's cafe.

While shooting in Ireland, Salman Khan and former US President, Bill Clinton, were put up in the same hotel in Dublin. According to Yash Raj Films, Bill CLinton's security was shocked to see Salman's fans force their way into the hotel at odd hours to meet him. And since the former President’s security couldn’t be jeopardised, the secret service agents had to take care of Salman's personal security too!

Trust Kabir Khan to add a realistic touch to all his films. For the Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan-starrer, the director had advised his lead pair to maintain certain things. Apparently, Kabir Khan had asked Katrina to go without make-up for a few scenes as well as asked her to wear her own clothes for the movie. All of this was done in order to keep the look of her character authentic. Even Salman Khan had minimal costume changes in Ek Tha Tiger, adding a touch of realism to his role of a RAW agent.

A very interesting chase and action sequence was filmed in Zakho, Northern Iraq. However, it got Salman Khan and 40 crew members under the radar of the NATO forces. According to YRF, while shooting for the actions sequences, snipers picked up the sound of gunshots and immediately four army helicopters were sent to the spot and a red alert was declared. Amidst a lot of confusion, the entire unit had to lie on the ground, for hours. However, later the local authorities were called to inform NATO know that it was just a film shoot. Soon after the shoot resumed and it was work as usual.