Salman Khan’s Bharat has been creating quite the stir from the memes on Katrina, to the songs to the high profile exit of Priyanka Chopra from the film last year. The Quint caught up with Salman in his usual irreverent self as he spoke about catering to his fans, why Bharat’s plotline is it’s strength and, of course, Priyanka Chopra. Here are some excerpts from the conversation:
On Priyanka Leaving Bharat for a Jo Bro
“I think it’s amazing what she has done. She left such an important film, which may not come in the next 10 or 15 years to her, for her marriage. Katrina was our first choice, but then Priyanka called Ali (Abbas Zafar, director) and said she wanted to do the film.”Salman Khan, Actor
He added, “She took the call five days before the film started so I’m sure she thought of the fact that I was going to get p*ssed off. But she still took her decision, which is amazing.”
Is Katrina ‘Indian’ Enough for Bharat?
The film’s director Ali Abbas Zafar was initially apprehensive about whether Katrina Kaif could pull off her role in Bharat since it was “extremely Indian”.
“I was like she’s (Katrina) your friend, she’s been working for so many years now. She’s done Raajneeti, etc. She can definitely pull it off. I keep saying that Katrina should win the National Award for this film and she thinks I’m saying it as a joke but I really mean it.”Salman Khan
Are We Going to See Bhai in a Web Series Soon?
“Television and digital have given us the freedom to work with many people who we couldn’t in film. These are people who are very big on television. It also gives opportunities to so many new producers and directors.”Salman Khan
Salman also mentioned Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders and Vikings as some of his favourite shows.
Will Younger Bollywood Actors Ever Topple the three Khans – SRK, Aamir and Salman?
“It is a huge task to keep it going for such a long time. In fact, Aamir, Shah Rukh, Akshay and I are the few who have been able to hold on to our stardom for so long, and I know we will try to keep it at for as long as we can.”Salman Khan
When asked if he ever fears a day when his films may not do well at the box office, he said,
“Oh that’s very far away, it’s not going to happen for the next 50 years.”Salman Khan
Critics? Salman Says Haters Gonna Hate
“They are just negative people. It doesn’t matter what they will say about me or my film. I know what they are going to say. These guys don’t know much about cinema; they haven’t made a film ever. People have spent so much money on making a film, and these guys just get paid to watch a film.”Salman Khan
He added, “Let the audiences go to the theatre and decide. Films are not cheap to make.”
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