| EACH DAWN I DIE.. |
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| Tuesday, 02 August 2005 05:18 | |||
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"Im ready to kill my controversies
but will I be allowed to do so?"
To err is human and Salman Khan is one after all. Human, I mean! And yet, unmasking a man with the reputation for being the brattiest, most arrogant and egoistic of stars proved to be a daunting task even for a veteran journalist like me. For, beyond and behind his public façade lay oodles of vulnerability and innocence! Getting past the unreal and beyond the real would be quite a task. For, cornering a newsmaker and a controversial star like him could either be a scribes delight or sometimes his worst nightmare. But I didnt have to fear. For, Salman Khan, once a person of a highly volatile and scathing temperament seemed to have simmered. For, when I recently bumped into him in Bangalore, he proved to have mellowed down and was brimming with exuberance, even though the tenor of my questions was unpleasant. I began to agree that the man really had become the medias favourite whipping boy. Since he has hardly spoken his mind to the media, I placed before him every allegation and issue he had become entangled in, and needless to say, he tackled them gracefully, yet tactfully. So lets read on for Salman-bytes on his passion for playing Lord Ram, the Aishwarya Rai-Vivek Oberoi midnight madness, latest affairs with Sushmita Sen and Shilpa Shetty, Ranbir Kapoor and Satish Kaushiks allegations of assault, the latest on the Bandra accident case and what have you! How come you share this love-hate relationship with the fourth estate? Youve got it all wrong, brother! In fact, as Id like to believe it, its the other way round. Or rather, its a fact that a certain gossip section of the media has always shared a malicious relationship with me. But otherwise, the rest of the media has always been very fair to me by honestly and diligently calling a spade a spade. I dont think Ive come across a single article in which I found them to be biased against me, be it my professional or personal life. Is this an obvious reference to the critical acclaim that you received for your latest release Tere Naam? I told you, Ive always received rave reviews whenever I really deserved it, no doubt about it, and I am deeply indebted to all of them. In spite of all my shortcomings Ive always been showered with compliments even from hardcore critics. Then how come most of the scribes have been at the receiving end of your volatile temper? Now thats totally unfair brother! Can you, or any other media person for that matter, recount any incident where Ive been violent with them? I have usually chosen to remain aloof and miles away from the media. But misbehaving with them? Never! In fact, it was during the pre-release campaign of Tum Ko Na Bhool Payenge that I missed them and made a conscious decision to call it a truce. But how are you with the yellow journalists? Still mad at them!? No! The only precaution I take is maintaining a safe distance from them. Yet, the fact remains that they still keep hitting me below the belt and also where it really hurts, that too without bothering to cross check the authenticity of the rumours. That means you are always open to clarifications? Yes. In this regard Ill always be available and accessible and dont you think thats fair enough, brother? So, can we get down to some cross checking, as you call it? Shoot! Go ahead and grill me! Court martial me! Put me in the dock! To begin with, whats the latest update on the victim of the accident case? As of today the trial in court is still on. Yet, I am sure that Ill have to (and I am all geared up to) face the music. Besides these developments Ive already paid compensation to the tune of Rs. 21 lakhs to family of the victim (late Nurullahs) family and since the matter is still sub-judice I cant say more about the case. Are you still gripped with a feeling of remorse or regret about the entire incident? Yes! I wish the court would allow me to meet the victim Nurullahs family and beg their forgiveness as I believe that Insha Allah, Allah the most merciful will definitely forgive me only after they do so. Has this incident changed you in any way? Yes, it has! Ive started viewing life with an altogether different perspective and then believe it or not, for once Ive totally sobered down. The incident has literally shocked me out of my wits. But then as the saying goes, Allah jo karta hai, achche ke liye hi karta hai (God willing everything that happens, happens for the good). What about the Black Buck case? That trial is also under progress. In fact, these days I find myself more at police stations and at court than at home or at shoots. Whats your final take on the Aishwarya Rai-Vivek Oberoi episode? Do I have a choice? Besides, Im quite sure that these chapters will never be closed even if I genuinely wish to or shout my version from the rooftops! The media will keep hounding me. I am ready to kill my controversies once and for all, now that I am on a clarification trip, but will I be allowed to do so? Suffice it to say that in the former case I loved and I lost. At least I am glad that the feelings were reciprocal till the time they lasted. In the latter case I think we both overreacted. So you see, Allah proposes, man disposes. Whatever had to happen, happened. And then life moves on. Destiny has the upper hand and we have all moved on in our own directions and are now carrying on with our own individual lives! And now dont you think that life has come a full circle with you making news again with Somy Ali? So what? I neither accept nor deny it. Let the media say and write what they want to. But from now on, everyone who needs a clarification about my personal life will be told, Its my life and I choose to live the way I want to! But arent you supposed to be having a scene with Sushmita Sen and Shilpa Shetty? And Katrina Kaif? And who else? Not again! Why doesnt the media make up its mind? Anyway, both Sushmita and Shilpa are my good buddies and have both stood by me whenever I needed them. So, once again I dont care if the media still chooses to put two and two together and come to their conclusions. And what about the Rishi Kapoors son, Ranbir and the Satish Kaushik episodes. At least the media did not cook these up? Why do you keep forgetting names brother? You forgot to mention Mr. Subhash Ghai. Anyway, I accede that all these so-called assault incidents were not entirely the medias figment of imagination. No, they were certainly not! But all that is over and done with now. I erred and I apologized to the concerned people. Im quite sure that it wont happen again. Were you making amends when you completed Satish Kaushiks Tere Naam and roped in Rishis daughter Riddhima, for Lucky? Yes, I own up to the Tere Naam part of your question! I did not wish the producer to suffer huge losses because of me. As for Riddhima, I just suggested her name but the final decision will still be the filmmakers. You seem to be going out of your way to be in the good books of all the top-bracket filmmakers! Comment. I see nothing wrong in that. Its my job, I am an actor and I need a job. Every working person does that. So why not me, man! That sounds like desperation! Is that why you did bit roles in Raveenas Stumped and Dev Anands Love At Times Square? Call it what you want but I did Devsaabs film because I adore him. As for Raveena, she is a very close pal. Besides, I really wanted to try my hands at item numbers. Never mind if I get labeled as an item boy, after all, everyone doing item numbers make news. You made sensational news on the sets of Cinevistas new film! What did I do? What crime did I commit? It so happened that I could not shoot for them on that particular day, due to various reasons. But I was certainly not drunk, as a certain section of the regional press reported. Were you responsible for ousting Aishwarya from Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Bajirao Mastani? No. Maybe she had some problems with him. Maybe she did not want to work with me again. But as far as I am concerned, Im a thorough professional and have no more problems with her, either personal or professional. You are also reported to have passed on some unsavory remarks against the Indian cricket team during the World Cup. I was just backing the Pakistani team that was doing rather well for themselves and mind you only, only in that particular match, on that particular day. I meant no offence or malice towards the Indian team. In fact, I had pledged my full support to Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty in their campaign of cheering and encouraging the Indian team. What would you say about your split with your business partner Bunty Walia and about replacing Anu Malik with Sajid-Wajid in your forthcoming film Garv? I never considered Bunty Walia as my partner, he was always my best friend. Its just that we could not work out our professional differences. As for Mr. Anu Malik, he tried to palm off stale tunes for Garv. So I had no option left, but to get him replaced with Sajid-Wajid. What happened to your Hollywood aspirations? I thought Id gain an entry into Hollywood after signing the Hollywood project Marigold, but now Im not sure about this dream being fulfilled. Maybe Ill try again. And what happened to your own pet project, Ramayana? Im keen on donning the mantle of Lord Ram! Thus, Ill go ahead with the project, some time in the middle of 2004. As a finale how about listing down your forthcoming projects? During Tere Naam I had no films on hand, but today have plenty. Theres Sanjay Leela Bhansalis film Bajirao Mastani which will take off in the beginning of 2004 as soon as he completes Black with Amitji. I loved acting with him in Baghban and wish I could do more films with him, even if it means sharing a single frame with him. Then there is Puneet Issars Garv with Shilpa Shetty; Radhika Rao and Vinay Saprus Lucky, probably with Riddhima Kapoor; Atul Kulkarnis directorial debut Har Dil Kuch Kehta Hai with Priety Zinta, the next venture of producer Govardhan Thanwani and director Adhiyamaan of Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam fame; Cinevistas new film and my own project Ramayana. What about the Deepa Mehta movie? Her Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam is still on the anvil. While Im keen on playing Sahib, enacted by the late Rehman, in the original version, Deepa is keen on casting me as Ghulam, originally played by the late Gurudutt. Lets see what happens! Shaheen Raaj
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