Salman Khan Once Said: “I Respect Bajaj Sahab and Mayapuri” — Even When He Stayed Away from the Press

Sharad Rai

The respect that the late P.K. Bajaj commanded in the film industry is something very rare. I would like to share an experience related to him that I once heard directly from Salman Khan during a conversation. This incident dates back to the time when Salman had practically banned the press. In those days, he did not give interviews to journalists and had unofficially kept his distance from the media.

A group of us—reporters and photographers—had gathered at a film muhurat in Film City, Mumbai (now known as Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari). We came to know that Salman Khan was shooting for one of his films on a nearby set. Naturally, we all wanted to go to the set where Salman was shooting. But everyone said the same thing: “These days he doesn’t talk to the press at all, so what’s the point of going there?”

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At that time, Salman had decided—without any particular reason—not to talk to the media. He neither spoke to reporters nor allowed photographers to click pictures of him. Inside the industry, it was being discussed that this advice had come from his father Salim Khan. As part of the famous writer duo Salim–Javed, Salim Khan knew how Amitabh Bachchan had once banned the press and still reached extraordinary heights of superstardom. He had advised Salman to follow the same formula. As everyone knows, the formula worked. Negative stories about Salman began appearing in the press, yet he remained constantly in the headlines and kept climbing the ladder of stardom.

One day, photographer Raju Upadhyay, R.T. Chawla, and I were about to leave Film City through the main gate when we noticed Salman Khan standing near an open area outside a stage on the left side of the gate. He was leaning on his bicycle. Salman had developed a habit of cycling whenever he got free time from work, and even today he enjoys riding bicycles whenever he gets the chance. Someone told us that his bicycle was worth around seven lakh rupees.

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I said to Raju, “Let’s go and talk to Salman. It’s a good opportunity.” As we approached him, Raju had already taken out his camera. Seeing us coming closer, Salman immediately said from a distance, “No… no photos please!”

Raju put his camera back in the bag. I walked up to Salman and said, “Salman ji, I’m from Mayapuri. We never publish gossip. It’s a family magazine. Then why don’t you talk to Mayapuri? Why this distance?”

Salman replied, “I know that Mayapuri is a family magazine, and I have great respect for Bajaj Sahab. I have no reason not to talk to you. But I’ve decided not to talk to anyone. How can I speak to just one person? That would be against ethics, wouldn’t it?”

After saying this, he turned away from me and started pedaling his bicycle.
Just then, producer Sudhakar Bokade arrived there. The shooting taking place on the set inside was for his film “Saajan.” Photographer Raju Upadhyay opened his camera and clicked a few pictures of him. Meanwhile, Salman came cycling back toward us. Bokade ji then said,
“Now you people should leave. The day Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) is on the set, I’ll ask my PRO Raju Kariya to call you. Today it’s only Salman here, and he won’t talk.”

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So we left the studio and headed home. One thought kept running in my mind—despite having respect in his heart for Mayapuri and for P.K. Bajaj Sahab, Salman had still spoken about ethics. If the rule was a “ban,” then it was a ban for everyone. Why should he break his own rule for one person?

Later, when I told Bajaj Sahab about this incident over the phone, he simply said: “Salman is right.”