Salman Khan’s long-time friend and actor Raju Shreshtha, popularly known as Master Raju, has spoken candidly about the superstar’s emotional nature, recalling incidents where Salman would lose control, shout in public, and struggle under immense stress during the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. Sharing insights from decades of friendship, Raju said Salman has always been driven by his heart rather than calculation.
Growing up together in Bandra
Raju said his bond with Salman predates the actor’s film career. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, he recalled their childhood in Bandra and said, “I know Salman Khan much before Baaghi. We come from the same area. We both come from Bandra.”
He added, “We used to cycle together. When he was doing Patthar Ke Phool, before shooting, he used to practice skating at Bandstand. I used to cycle and he used to hold on to the carrier and practice skating.”
‘I was friends with him when he was nothing’
While Raju began acting as a child artist, Salman entered films later. Reflecting on those early years, Raju said, “Me and Salman are friends from the time when people used to say that see Master Raju is standing and some boy is also standing next to him. So, I am friends with him from the time he was nothing.”
He added, “He has been very nice and kind and very misunderstood. He is a very nice man. After that, he only got me to play a role in Baaghi. We went to shoot for the film in Ooty and years after that, we did Chal Mere Bhai together.”
Why he stopped calling Salman ‘tu’
Raju revealed that fame changed how he addressed his friend in public. “When Salman Khan became the Salman Khan… earlier, I used to call him, ‘Salman tu’ and then I started calling him, ‘Bhai aap’,” he said.
Explaining his reasoning, Raju added, “Salman asked me, ‘Why are you calling me like this?’ But I told him, ‘You have become a mega star and if I call you Salman tu, then you will tell Shera not to let me in the next time and push me out of the room because you will feel I am insulting you.’”
‘People would call me his chamcha’
Speaking about how their dynamic evolved, Raju said, “We used to talk about anything. Salman and I have taken baths naked, but I don’t expect this today, he is a big star today.”
He added, “If I now go and be on his set and in his house for all the time, people will call me his chamcha.”
Stress during the blackbuck case
Salman Khan was embroiled in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case during the shooting of Chal Mere Bhai. Raju admitted that the actor was under severe stress at the time.
“Yes, he was stressed, but on the face of it, he was not showing. But the environment around him was stressful,” Raju said. “There was a time when a major chunk of Salman’s money was going in court case and hiring big lawyers.”
He added, “He had told me that a lot of his earnings were going into this. He has always said that he is innocent and to prove that he had to spend so much money and go through so much stress. He told me he didn’t want to do all this.”
‘He is not calculative, he is clean at heart’
Describing Salman’s personality, Raju said, “He was funny, he never thought before saying anything, and he never used to think much before making friends. He is clean at heart.”
“He was not calculative or manipulative. He is a very easy person and that is why he has often been caught in controversies,” he added.
‘He doesn’t work from his mind, he works from his heart’
Raju also spoke about Salman’s emotional volatility in relationships. “Salman has never had control over his emotions,” he said.
“Sometimes he would go and hurl abuses while standing under somebody’s building. He shouted while standing under his ex-girlfriend’s building, he would beat up someone, so he didn’t control his emotions.”
Defending him, Raju added, “He is a very sweet man. He doesn’t work from mind. He works from his heart.”
While Raju did not specify the incident, Salman Khan had reportedly created a scene outside ex-girlfriend Aishwarya Rai’s residence shortly after their breakup in 2002.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the
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