Salman on Tum Ko Na Bhool Payenge and future ventures

Salman Khan, interviewed by Sunil Sethi

July 10, 2001 MSNBC

"The audiences want to be somewhat like me. The older generation wants to have fun towards the end of their life and they like all this masti and the children love it. I am not making my movies to sit home and watch them myself. I would like to put them on theatre and people to watch them・"

Q：Salman, tell us something about this new film that you are also producing with Diya Mirza and Sushmita Sen. A：The film is called Tum Ko Na Bhool Payege. It is being co-produced by me with Baba Films. I cannot tell you much about the script because it is very complicated as we are touching on too many issues on this film.

Q：Since your last film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke three months ago you haven't had too many releases. Are you becoming choosy about your roles? A：My last release was but three months ago and that's not a very long time. I am going to produce a few films now.

Q：Why do you think you have acquired a bit of a reputation as the media's favourite whipping boy in the film industry? A：I have no clue, you have got to ask the media about that. I guess this is one guy who doesn't want this and doesn't need this. In India when you don't want any publicity or any favour from anybody and they want to give it to you and you refuse them, that is rejection and that really hurts specially when everybody around is like sucking upto them, so that's the reason why I think I am the whipping boy.

Q：Newcomers in the film industry like Hrithik Roshan regard you as their role model. How do you react to that? A：Hrithik has made me into his trainer. I really hope and wish that he had taught me dancing when I was teaching him how to workout that would have been really good.

Q：But lets face it there is a lot of competition in the film industry from people like Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan and now Tusshar Kapoor. Does that call for a change of image for you? A：No, I am just going to be playing a 14 year old all my life.

Q：No, seriously what will you do? A：Oh seriously, okay 16, that's what I am. See I will tell you why I do these kind of roles. The audiences want to be somewhat like me. The older generation wants to have fun towards the end of their life and they like all this masti and the children love it. I am not making my movies to sit home and watch them myself. I would like to put them on theatre and people to watch them.

Q：Tell us a bit about your new projects. What new films have you got in the pipeline? A：There is Hello Daddy, Mr. David Dhawan's film and Kya Mujhse Shadi Karogee is a film being directed by Adi Aman and produced by a very old producer of mine who made Jaanam Samjha Karo and Qurban.

Q：You had a big hit with Aishwariya Rai with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Are you doing any more films with her? A：Yes, we just signed a film sometime ago and the film is going to be directed by Atul Agnihotri who is my Brother-in-law and produced by GS entertainment, which is again like a Home Production.

Q：And what is it about? A：It is a love story.

July 11 2001