You ring the bell and a servant lets you in with a customary ‘adaab.’ Salman Khan meets you halfway and offers a firm handshake. You walk inside the living room and meet his father, Salim Khan, who as always is at his wit’s end. Two or three producers wait for dates and discussions. Younger brothers Sohail, (in shorts and gelled back hair, mobile phone stuffed in his pocket) and Arbaaz, (in long hair and jeans) walk in and out of the room. It’s a house without formalities. And without rules. The kitchen works overtime. I’m told that at any time about 40 people are always present for lunch. And this excludes half a dozen servants and the watchman of the building. Friends and friends of friends drop by in the afternoon and stay for hours, playing Scrabble or just watching a film. The balcony at the far end of the living room is a family favourite. We sit on the low sofas, overlooking the Bandstand sea and order tea. ‘Glass mein lana, cup mein nahin,’ Salman tells the boy. Then turning to me adds, ‘Somehow I don’t feel satisfied if I have it from a cup.’ The interview takes longer than intended because Salman is a brilliant raconteur. He has me in splits. From time to time, we have an audience (a friend from London, his dress designer and a photographer friend). I had gone to meet him with a lot of reservations, but he broke all my defences. If you don’t believe me, read on and make your own impressions.

Do you identify with the image you have in print today?
No, I don’t. But I don’t blame the press for writing what they do because that’s how I am with them. I really don’t care about these things. If a person can for a few quotes concoct lies and play havoc with me and my family’s peace of mind, they are not worth it.

If you realise a part of the blame lies with you. Why can’t you try to rectify the same?
I don’t want to. I’ve survived without them all these years and I can continue to do so. I don’t want any bargaining in relationships. This is not a barter system where you do this, and somebody gets an advertisement. Or you do something else, and in return you’re given an award. I don’t want rewards from the press. I don’t want any platforms. My work speaks for me. I don’t have to. Just for the record, what exactly went wrong in your relationship with the press?

How and why did the rot set in?
It’s so long ago, that it’s almost impossible to go back in a chronological order, but let me try. It was immediately after the release of Patthar Ke Phool. It was the mahurat of my new film Sangdil Sanam and there was this usual rush for pictures. Suddenly, while we were all posing for the stills, one of the senior photographers said, ‘Ye apne aapko Amitabh Bachchan samajhta hai, isko nikalo’. Everyone was stunned. I moved away. The photographer’s wrath was directed at me, because earlier I had refused to pose with Rekha for him when he visited our shooting of Biwi Ho To Aisi. He felt that as a newcomer I had no right to have a mind of my own. I would have let go off the incident but a few days later, as I was driving home, I spotted Ketan Desai shooting an ad film (Four Square) with Jackie Shroff on the street outside my building. Naturally, I stopped to say hello. A bunch of photographers were hanging around. That particular photographer was there too. No sooner did he see me, than he made a condescending expression. Something just snapped within me. I grabbed his collar and would have hammered him, had my father not intervened.

Why do you resort to fisticuffs? What makes you so angry?
People’s attitudes. I hadn’t gone there with war on mind. Just because somebody is refused an interview or a photo session, must he turn so vicious? Do they have a right to be so patronising? On another occasion, a weekly tabloid sent their photographer on my sets. I was splashed with mud and was doing a difficult shot. When the photographer clicked, I looked at him and said ‘Don’t, not now’ but he did it again. This time the director noticed it too and pulled him up. The whole thing was blown out of proportion an became a major issue. The editor of the paper preferred to believe the photographer’s word against mine and so the war continues...

What about the journalists? Why did you stop talking to them?
I’ve met only a couple of them and most of the time the experience has been weird (smiles). It’s not as if I don’t give interviews at all. I’ve talked a couple of times to a couple of magazines, but I can’t go on and on about myself every two months.

What’s there to say? Besides, I’ve exhausted all the topics. I’ve talked about my career, my family. I’ve even talked about Helen aunty. They’ve written about my failures, my friends, even my girlfriends. I have nothing more to say, so I pleaded silence! They took affront and began attacking me in print. That really put me off and I said to hell with all of them!

So what made you give those occasional interviews?
Impulse. I believe in taking a chance. I get angry and fly off the handle. Then on a different occasion, somebody approaches me and I react differently. It depends on my frame of mind at that time. Remember that famous incident at a photographer’s studio? I had merely gone to check out my girlfriend’s costumes. I wasn’t keen on interacting with anybody. I was sitting quietly in the room when this young reporter peeped into the door and sought permission to come in. Standing outside she said, ‘If I come in, will you pour Thumbs Up over my head? This was completely uncalled for.

But you said she was very young?
Ha... Now don’t take up for your tribe. Recently, another female reporter phoned and said that she wanted to meet me. I told her I don’t want to meet the press, but she persisted, said she wanted only five minutes and was at my doorstep a few hours later. I didn’t want to be rude and thought she would leave soon but she hung around. Next, I was shooting at Chandivali studio and somebody brought me a magazine with an article on me. As I began to read the contents, who do I see, but the same journalist. Walking behind Shilpa Shetty, our eyes met. I didn’t need to read the story further. Looking directly at her, I shredded the magazine into pieces. I told her that by the time I tear the article completely, if she was not out of my sight, I will do the same to her. Ashen-faced, she fled the studio that very minute (laughs).

You seem to enjoy intimidating people.
I don’t. These are impressions that have been exaggerated. I’m quite fun-loving actually, but the better side of me is not for the press. If I like somebody, I’ll go out of my way to be nice to him. Most of the time I don’t know what to say to people. I don’t like making polite conversation.

Is that your self-image?
Yes... (smiles) I don’t rub people up the wrong way unless they provoke me. I’m good to some people and not good to several people (smiles). These people don’t care about me nor do I about them. The feeling is mutual.

Are you trying to say that the negative stories about you in print don’t affect you?
They do... even if it’s only for a short while (looks serious). My family however gets more upset than me. I don’t buy magazines, so occasions of such irritants are few. If I find them around me, I browse through them, but I don’t have the patience to read articles on me or anybody else.

Have you ever tried analysing your recurring problem with the press?
(Looks thoughtful). My problem is I trust. I rise above deceit everytime I’m betrayed. I take a chance and give the benefit of the doubt. But everytime, I’m attacked again! It’s happened so many times, but I’m still optimistic.

How many people agree with this theory?
All those who know me, the rest of them don’t matter.

What about those who think you have an attitude problem?
Attitudes change in a jiffy. I can have these same people eating out of my hand if I want to. My problem is I don’t.

Does reputation matter to you? How do you make a character study?
The first test of character according to me, is how dependent is the person at sustaining relationships. My staff has been with me ever since I started my career. If I was such an evil person, they would have deserted me long ago. And I would have no friends.

Do you?
I have very few, but very close friends. When I go for my shows abroad, I carry all of them everywhere. They all pay for their own tickets, to not be a burden on the sponsors, but we have a great holiday. Due to scarcity of rooms, half a dozen of us shack up in one room. Often, I’m left sleeping on the floor with a friend or brother kicking me at night. That’s why I find stories about ‘Salman Khan freaking on shows’ very funny in print (chuckles). They couldn’t be further from the truth.

Are stories about you being flippant on the sets and those where you’ve been irreverent towards your directors fabricated as well?
(Surprised) Is that what my work reflects on screen? I’m not ready to believe that my directors think I’m irreverent. I’m flighty but only for myself. I don’t distract others. During Hum Aapke Hain Kaun....! (HAHK) Mohnish Behl felt that I wasn’t concentrating sufficiently. I didn’t think it was essential. There are certain roles where the actor has to let the script take over. HAHK was one such film. I know who is feeding you such tales. On the sets of Khamoshi - The Musical, Nana Patekar asked me to get serious, during a particular shot. I told him, ‘That’s what you are in the film for’. So what’s wrong with that?

 NOTE : This is an old interview. date not known

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