Salim Khan says that while he is proud of his son, he doesn’t see ever-lasting friendship between Salman and Shahrukh Khan. So the question everyone’s asking after the Salman Khan-Shahrukh Khan’s handshake-and-hug is whether this means they will go back to being friends. Will SRK be at parties at Galaxy ? Will Salman drop in at Mannat ? Salman’s dad Salim Khan, who was present on Sunday evening at the iftaar party when his son Salman greeted SRK, says he’s proud of his son for making the first move, “I am happy that my son has taken the initiative. It was a sensible thing to do and a much-needed gesture and Shahrukh reciprocated.”
When asked if the hug would thaw the strained relations between the two warring Khans, he says, “Please don’t give so much importance to it. There are disagreements between miyaan-biwi, neighbours, society and so many other individuals. They (Salman and Shah Rukh) are actors and rivals. Inke problems hote hain aur solve bhi ho jaate hain. I have always maintained that there can never be any love between any two big stars, only courtesy. It is not possible for big stars to love each other. Even stars like Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar were just courteous to each other. Salman and Shahrukh must have decided to be mature and courteous and that is something that must be maintained.”
Khan feels the so-called patch-up got unnecessary media attention. “Just because they patched up it’s not as if the country’s problems will get solved, no? They hugged each other lekin isseUttarakhand mein jo ho raha hai, ya Kashmir mein, those problems won’t get solved. Kaande ka bhav toh nahi girega na? The disagreements between stars are not national problems as the media is making it out to be.
It (the Salman-SRK fight) involves an issue between two people and there can be many reasons for that. I have been married to my wife for 50 years and to Helen for 30 years. Even we have problems, but that’s natural, lekin hum log apne galti maanke, we move ahead. If my son and Shahrukh have done that, it’s a good thing.”
Senior Khan doesn’t want to dwell on why-the-patch-up-happened-now, “They both are self-respecting people. They must have decided to put aside their ego instead of thinking about what hurt them. Maybe they felt foolish behaving in a childish manner and instead decided to behave like mature adults on that day. Media should be talking on much more important issues than this.”
Khan adds that whenever SRK has met him in the last few years, he has always greeted him respectfully, despite his problems with his son, “We are all civilised people and Shahrukh has always treated me with civility and respect whenever we have met. I am his senior and he has given me that respect. That’s our culture. I met him at the Don premiere… My other children talk to him. Javed (Akhtar) and I stopped being partners years ago but we are fighting for the rights of Zanjeer together. In the world there is no substitute for love and peace.”
