"You can write the goriest stories about me" - Salman Khan
Is
it
true
that
Hollywood
heavyweight
Jean-Claude
Van
Damme's
daughter,
Bianca,
is
acting
opposite
you
in
Veer?
Not
at
all.
Where
did
that
come
from?
Sure
I
met
Van
Damme
in
Dubai
at
the
IIFA
awards
a
couple
of
years
back
and
we
hit
it
off
well.
It's
also
true
that
I
met
his
wife
and
daughter
when
they
came
down
to
India
for
a
holiday
recently
but
there
was
no
talk
of
a
film.
But
Bianca's
a
pretty
girl.
Is
it
true
that
you're
trying
to
gain
weight?
Yes,
I'm
trying
to
increase
my
weight
to
almost
twice
of
what
I'm
now.
I'm
doing
regular
workouts
and
eating
right.
I'm
doing
it
for
my
role
in
Veer.
With
Veer,
I
want
to
separate
the
boys
from
the
men.
I
want
the
boys
to
look
like
pretty
girls.
Since
I've
already
worked
a
lot
on
my
physique,
it's
not
going
to
be
so
hard.Other
actors
take
three
to
four
years
to
get
a
six
pack,
I
take
five
days.
So
what
is
so
special
about
Veer?
The
fact
that
I've
written
the
story.
The
idea
has
been
with
me
for
over
20
years
now.
When
I
started
out,
I
wanted
to
be
a
director.
There
were
so
many
stories
I
wanted
to
tell,
Veer
was
one
of
them.
It's
the
story
of
a
warrior
tribe
in
the
1900s
and
obviously,
I
play
a
warrior.
It's
a
beautiful
story
of
a
father
and
a
son
who
honour
the
word.
Anil
Sharma
is
directing
it.
Some
might
say
that
you
are
taking
the
warrior
role
too
seriously
what
with
the
recent
news
that
you
allegedly
slapped
Katrina
Kaif.
I
did
not
slap
anybody.
Those
Barista
(the
place
where
the
alleged
slap
was
supposed
to
have
taken
place)
people
couldn't
have
said
that
because
it
didn't
happen.
But
they
(the
media)
still
wrote
the
story.
I
want
to
know
on
what
basis
are
they
so
sure
that
something
like
that
happened.
What
I
really
want
to
know
is
that
if
I'm
such
a
terror
who
keeps
slapping
people,
why
aren't
people
scared
of
me?
Why
do
they
still
keep
on
writing
all
this
stuff
about
me?
They
should
check
with
me.
Maybe
because
you
have
a
history
of
being
inaccessible
to
the
media?
I
don't
react
to
rumours
and
unfounded
stories.
If
you
ask
me
about
a
stupid
thing
that
hasn't
happened,
then
either
I'll
joke
about
it
or
laugh
it
off.
What
can
I
say
to
something
as
preposterous
as
this?
I
don't
have
the
time
to
get
into
all
this.
My
name
is
Salman
Khan
and
I
need
to
work
for
a
living.
I
don't
have
the
time
and
energy
to
call
up
every
newspaper
and
television
channel
and
deny
or
confirm
every
little
thing
that
gets
written
or
said
about
me.
But
now
I'm
thinking
I
need
to
do
something.
I'm
planning
something.
What
are
you
planning?
I'm
going
to
ask
all
editors
to
designate
one
person
from
their
organisation
who
will
come
and
talk
to
me.
There
should
be
one
point
person
that
I
deal
with.
Like,
from
The
Indian
Express,
it
could
be
you.
That
way,
I
won't
have
to
deal
with
little
kids
who
don't
know
what
they
are
talking
about
and
have
just
been
given
a
camera
and
pen
to
write
whatever
they
want
to.
From
now
on,
I'm
going
to
insist
that
everyone
who
interviews
me
must
have
done
a
journalism
course.
By
the
way
have
you
done
a
course?
Fortunately I have. So I hope you won't slap me? Laughs) You're safe.
So,
when
was
the
last
time
you
slapped
anyone?
(Thinks
hard)
I
don't
remember.
These
days,
I
don't
react
to
any
kind
of
provocation.
But
I
must
confess
that
recently
Govinda
did
something
that
made
me
feel
proud
of
him.
Are
you
referring
to
the
incident
when
Govinda
slapped
a
guy?
Yeah.
That
guy
must
have
really
bugged
him
and
I'm
happy
that
he
whacked
him.
As
a
celebrity,
aren't
you
conscious
of
the
responsibility
that
you
have?
Does
that
mean
that
just
because
we
are
celebrities,
we
have
to
take
everything
lying
down
and
that
anyone
can
get
away
riling
us?
Most
of
the
time
we
take
it
but
if
they
cross
the
line
by
ten
folds,
we
react.
Do
you
respect
the
media?
A
small
section
of
it.
I
don't
have
a
problem
if
people
say
anything
about
my
work
or
my
personality
but
don't
write
false
stuff.
Do
you
want
the
media
to
only
write
gushy
stuff
about
you?
Not
at
all.
Take,
for
instance,
this
Madame
Tussauds
thing
that
happened.
Everybody
was
going
on
and
on
about
what
an
achievement
it
is.
I think it's an achievement of my fans. I didn't do self-congratulatory interviews even though I was constantly asked. I believe that I said whatever I had to say on the day itself, which was shown all over the channels. Ho gaya na... aage badhao na life ko. Even when I promote my films, I do it for my producers. I believe that there is no channel required between an actor and his audience. You can write the goriest stories about me, but if my fans believe in me then no matter what anyone writes they will come and watch my films. That's what matters.
Do
you
take
pride
in
your
work?
The
maximum.
Then
why
don't
you
work
with
thinking
filmmakers
like,
say,
a
Vishal
Bharadwaj
or
a
Rajkumar
Hirani?
They
don't
approach
me,
that's
why.
They
all
know
me,
they
talk
to
me
but
they
don't
offer
me
work.
I'm
happy
in
my
own
zone.
I'm
working
with
Subhash
Ghai,
Anil
Sharma
and
David
Dhawan.
Will
you
ever
approach
any
director
for
work?
No.
Why
should
I?
Maybe
to
see
what
a
different
director
can
draw
out
of
you?
I
know
what
I
can
do
with
myself.
I
feel
that
another
person
will
only
take
from
my
personality.
It's
not
that
I
think
no
end
of
myself
but
there
is
no
end
to
me.
Name
some
of
your
films
that
you
are
satisfied
with.
Maine
Pyar
Kiya,
Andaz
Apna
Apna,
Karan
Arjun,
Hum
Aapke
Hain
Kaun
and
Hum
Dil
De
Chuke
Sanam.
Films
like
Love,
Veergati
and
Suryavanshi
were
also
good
but
they
were
made
too
early
and
I
was
too
young.
Didn't
Ashutosh
Gowariker
approach
you
for
Jodhaa
Akbar?
Yeah,
he
came
to
me
and
spoke
to
me
a
long
time
ago.
Are
you
a
difficult
actor
to
work
with?
No.
I'm
not
a
difficult
actor
because
I
don't
act,
I
react.
If
people
understand
me,
then
I'm
the
easiest
guy
to
be
around.
Then
how
do
you
explain
all
those
horror
stories
of
getting
a
haircut
in
the
middle
of
the
shoot?
Yeah,
I
do
that.
If
I
feel
like
having
a
haircut,
then
I
will
get
one.
What's
the
big
deal?
Who
is
your
biggest
critic?
My
father,
Salim
Khan.
It'll
be
nice
to
hear
him
say
that
he's
proud
of
me.
He
has
never
said
that.
But
if
does
say
that,
then
it's
over!
Who
are
the
actors
you
like
on-screen?
I
think
Govinda
and
Aamir
are
fantastic.
I
like
Shahrukh's
intensity
in
romance,
Sanju's
personality
on
screen,
Sunny's
anger
on
screen
and
Anil's
dedication
and
sincerity.
I
really
admire
Anil
because
he's
still
standing
while
all
his
contemporaries
have
gone.
In
my
opinion,
the
real
quality
of
a
hero
is
to
never
let
your
fans
outgrow
you.
How
would
you
like
to
be
remembered,
say,
50
years
from
now?
50
years
from
now?
I'll
play
my
second
innings
as
a
leading
man.
I've
just
started,
after
all.