“It affects my whole family,” Salman Khan had said it in an interview some time ago

By Mark Manuel

on April 05, 2018

In an exclusive cover story he did for HT Brunch with Mark Manuel not so long ago, Salman Khan talked unplugged and uninhibited from the heart about age, life, death, the future, charity, and above all – his court appearances.

The actor said then, in answer to a question about what mind space he was in,
“People see me romancing heroines, they see me horsing around on TV reality shows even though I might have a court appearance the next day, I’m attending parties, spotted entering or leaving the airport, celebrating a film’s release, they think I’m chilled out. But all this is my job. And I have to do it no matter how messed up I’m in the head. Truth is I’m in an agitated space. A court appearance affects my whole family. It’s like a sword over my head. It keeps me in check. Under control. If I didn’t have it, I would have taken off! The positive side is that there’s an awareness because of me. That doesn’t mean I look forward to a court date. But it’s a blast for the media. I believe four or five days go into planning stories. How do you send the TRPs up? By making capsules on all my wrongdoings! There are days when I don’t want to leave the house. But I need to go out and work because a lot of people earn their livings off me.”

[caption id="attachment_25426" align="aligncenter" width="974"] Salman Khan[/caption]

My mother says I’m stuck at 13! But I’ve started getting injured a lot more and I’ve started feeling the pain a lot more. I’ve had fractures, broken bones, strained muscles, torn ligaments, everything hurts, but I’m still working.

He talked about age, because he was over 50, and Salman was ageing, but the Bollywood superstar was ageless on screen, his fans wouldn’t have Salman Khan any other way. “I don’t feel my age,” he said. “My mother says I’m stuck at 13! But I’ve started getting injured a lot more and I’ve started feeling the pain a lot more. I’ve had fractures, broken bones, strained muscles, torn ligaments, everything hurts, but I’m still working. I sleep for four hours. People who complain they can’t sleep don’t know what to do with the time they’re awake. I use that time. If I’m not shooting, I’m reading scripts, listening to narrations, sitting on music, meeting lawyers, attending to the Being Human Foundation, or partying! My doctor says, ‘Don’t be Rambo!’ But I can’t stop working. I believe you grow old and feel your age when you start getting tired; when you’re bored with life, unenthusiastic about your work, and when you lose that get-up-and-go impulsiveness. You need to be happy, excited and interested all the time. You need to be on the move.”

[caption id="attachment_54757" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Salman Khan with his mother Salma Khan[/caption]

Everybody gets old and dies. Life is about how much you can delay this. You can accept what the man in the mirror tells you and take a decision then and there. I push it for later.

Salman is known to donate large sums in the blink of an eye without question if it’s for charity. He once said that if somebody was dying and money could save that person’s life, he would provide the money. He accepts thanks from nobody. He tells people who express gratitude, ‘You took what was already yours from me, that’s your naseeb.’ Salman said in the HT Brunch cover story, “When I was nothing, I had nothing. I don’t think of the future. My time is now. And I will do whatever I can do. Money, anybody can earn. But a name like mine, to be the universal ‘Bhai’ to everyone, that’s difficult. I go with what’s happening. And I try to take it to the next level. Doing charity isn’t about giving money. It’s about holding out a hand, offering a smile, charity is about kindness. Being Human is about being there. I’m paying rent for my time on earth. The universe is like the IT Department. It can raid you anytime. Before that happens, I’m paying my taxes.”

And Salman talked about death, “Everybody gets old and dies. Life is about how much you can delay this. You can accept what the man in the mirror tells you and take a decision then and there. I push it for later. That’s because I know I’ve done it before. But then I have to train harder, abuse my body more. What you keep telling your body, the mind listens to. I should know. How do you think I got to be over 50?”