Kriti Sanon says she was surprised when filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker offered his ambitious period drama Panipat to her, but she took it as an opportunity to experiment.

“It is a great story that needs to be told. I like the character of Parvati Bai, especially the way Ashu sir has written it. It did attract me as I have never done something like this before. I was initially confused like how come he thought of me to play this Marathi girl because I am a North Indian, Punjabi.

“I was a little surprised. But I did not want to let go of the opportunity to do a period film with a director, who is a legend in that space. It is very different from what I have done and so it becomes exciting and challenging at the same time.

The film’s cast also includes Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Mohnish Bahl, Padmini Kolhapure and Zeenat Aman.Panipat, produced by Sunita Gowariker and Rohit Shelatkar’s company Vision World, is scheduled to release on December 6.