Up, close and personal with Salman Khan

It was a different Salman who I met during the Saawariya interview, a happy-go-lucky, free talking, unpretentious, and a normal human being. He cracked jokes, made fun of himself, and did not hesitate from speaking his mind and heart out.
Excerpts from an interview:

Why are you promoting Saawariya?

For Sanjay Leela Bhansali, my old friend, who asked me to enter the tray to help Sonam and Ranbir succeed. They cannot carry it all on their inexperienced shoulders. They need the support -of a well-meaning senior like me.

We have to match the star power of Om Shanti Om. Look at the kind of hard work Shah Rukh is putting in to promote his film. In fact I won't mind promoting OSO as well. I have done a dance number in it.

You call Sanjay Leela Bhansali your friend but he ignored you completely in Devdas and Black.

He had lost his way and has found it back (laughs). I had said this jokingly in Saawariya's music release function. Friendship is not like bonded labour. It is labour of love.

We all need to change the flavour of life from time to time, otherwise things get boring. Good that I was not in Devdas and Black. It would have killed me with boredom and I was doing other exciting things in life. But we were always in touch.

Sanjay is a great technician. Even when he did not have a single penny in his pocket, he made big films. He never compromises on his grand artistic sensibilities. It shows in his work. During the shooting of his first film Khamoshi with me, I had told him that the film might not do well at the box office, but I would continue to work with him. My relationship with him will never end, whether we do films or not. You can never say no to certain filmmakers.

How did you get involved with Saawariya?

Bajirao Mastani was already announced. It got stuck somehow. Sanjay called me up and said that he wanted to work on a teenage love story and I have to do a character called Imaan. This name got me interested and I agreed to do the film.

You agreed to do the film because of the name of the character!

Yes.

Why?

There is a sweet little story behind it. My father wants my son, if I have one, to be named Imaan. Salim, Salman, and Imaan. It sounds so good. He also wished I did a role with that name. So, I had to do the film and I am happy about it. It has turned out so well.

So, tell us about your character Imaan.

I will tell you everything but the story of the film. So, don't probe too deep. Imaan is a rough and tough guy, who has a hard exterior and a soft interior. He talks with a lot of bitterness, but there is humour in this too. He also flirts and romances without being too serious about it. It is a very good character. I hope people like it. They will love the film though.

You are a Muslim. Do you think people would like to see you in a Muslim role?

Don't try to create an identity crisis for me. I am a Hindu because my mother is a Maharashtrian Hindu. So I do Ganesh pooja. My father is a Muslim, and so I follow all the Islamic traditions. My brother-in-law is a Hindu. My sister-in- law is a Punjabi. Salman Khan is a happy combination of majority and minority. I am also a human being for your kind information and that is my foremost religion.

Being the son of a great film writer, have you ever tried your hands at writing?

I did. I wrote Baghi. The film disappeared without a trace. The producer lost a lot of money. After that I wrote Chandrmukhi, which has yet to take off. Nothing after that.
You have also acted in OSO which will be competing with Saawariya at the box office.
Good. Let the better film win over the audiences. It may be good for both the films. Our country is full of people, bursting at the seams, spilling all over the globe. Both the films will be big hits. Make a note of it. This is Salman vaani, which rarely fails (laughs).

Shah Rukh is a super star, Ranbir and Sonam are new.

That is not a problem. None should worry about it. Ranbir and Sonam should not lose sleep over it. They have done a great job and Saawariya is a great film. It is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film and I have done a brilliant role in it as well. I am more worried about Ranbir and Sonam getting bloated minds even if their film does slightly better than OSO. If, by some turn of fate, Saawariya does not do as well as OSO, they will have a ready excuse, 'What could we do when we were pitted against the Baadshah?'

How is your relationship with Shah Rukh?

He is a very good friend of mine. I would not have done a guest appearance in his film otherwise. Shah Rukh is my teacher too. He has taught me that whatever films you do, you must put in your all in promoting it. I did not come out to promote Jaaneman and look at what happened to it.

When are you doing your next film with Govinda since your jodi in Partner has become a big hit?

We are doing the sequel to Partner.

You have been doing a film with Subhash Ghai. What happened to that?

It is called Yuvraaj and is almost complete now. It is a story about kings and royalty. It is set in modern times. The film has Anil Kapoor and Zayed Khan. Anil Kapoor thinks he is the Yuvraaj, whereas I am the real Yuvraaj.

You have delayed Pokhari because of Yuvaraj.

No. All the dates have been adjusted and both the films are being shot simultaneously.

You were also going to act in the remake of Amar, Akbar, Anthony.

It would have been easier to act in a remake of Deewar but I am a bit confused about AAA. Amitji has done a fantastic job in the role of Anthony. I am not too sure if it can be recreated. That is why I am in two minds about doing it.

What other films have you been doing?

Rumi Jaffery's God Tusi Great Ho. We have to shoot for another ten days. I am also doing Prem Som's Main Aur Mrs. Khanna.

Will you ever do a film with Shah Rukh and Aamir?

Why not! Provided Aamir does not have problems with my coming late to the sets. You are forgetting that I have worked with Aamir in Andaaz Apna Apna and have done quite a few films with Shah Rukh too.

You were going to do some off beat films like Tom & Jerry. What happened to those plans?

I am still doing it. Work on the script is going on. We may have a different title though. We may call it Sleeping Partner or something. I am also doing Tarzan, which will be directed by Anees Bazmi. I will have a different get up in it. There is another film titled Veer which I am doing. I am so busy. However, after Partner, Saawariya will be the only other film of mine in 2007.