Salman never gives suggestions from the place of power: Kabir

Mumbai: Kabir Khan, whose first project with Salman Khan hits theatres tomorrow (August 15), says the Bollywood superstar gave his inputs into the film's making but respected his views as the director. The 46-year-old actor, who plays a spy in Ek Tha Tiger, apparently suggested many changes in the scenes that were already sealed.

"Though he is a mega star, he never gives suggestions from the place of power. He would give suggestions on lines and scenes but ultimately it is your call as a director and he respects that as well. There is no ego whatsoever in Salman," Kabir told PTI.

The director said he has had a warm relationship with Salman for a long time, even though it took him some time to work with the actor. "Not many know that I had first narrated the script of Kabul Express to him. It wasn't as if I thought that he would do it; it is just that a friend told me to narrate the script to him just to gain some inputs. I went with no expectations and could see that he had developed a liking for me. I showed him a documentary that I had made on Afghanistan and that he was very excited. He was very encouraging and supporting towards me," said Kabir.

Even though Salman is playing a spy in the film, Kabir says the role is nothing like that of James Bond. "Salman is playing a spy but the attempt is not to make him a James Bond here. I think when filmmakers try to do that, they end up taking the charm from telling a real story." "I strongly feel that James Bond can't work in our country. Heroes in our country is anyways not less than James Bond. He does impossible things with ease. I always wanted to make a film with a big star, especially with a story like Ek Tha Tiger but then wanted to keep it real," he added.

With his larger than life image fetching Salman four blockbusters in a row, Kabir says the scale of Ek Tha Tiger suited him very well. "Salman has an inherent larger than life quality to him. Ek Tha Tiger compliments that with the kind of scale and spread that would fascinate audiences worldwide."