Originally posted by: Sallufanno1
AWWWW CUTE..
BTW why do they call him bollywoods bad boy..
s coz he adn aish broke up and shwe said nonsense..
why why why can anyone tell me..
Read this interview of Sal's.You'll get his view and not concoted ones.
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!
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.
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