Salman Khan’s long-time friend and actor Raju Shreshtha, popularly known as Master Raju, spoke candidly about the emotional nature of the superstar, recalling instances when Salman lost control, screamed in public and struggled under extreme stress during the 1998 poaching case.
Reflecting on their decades of friendship, Raju said that Salman was always guided by his heart and not by calculation.
They grew up together in Bandra
Raju said that his bond with Salman started even before the actor’s film career. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, he recalled their childhood in Bandra and said, “I know Salman Khan way before Baaghi. We come from the same locality. We both come from Bandra.”He added, “We used to go cycling together. When he was shooting for Patthar Ke Phool, he used to practice skating at Bandstand before shooting.
I rode a bicycle, and he held on to the stroller and practiced riding.”
“I was friends with him when he was nothing”
While Raju started acting as a child, Salman entered films later. Recalling those early years, Raju said, “Salman and I have been friends since the days when people would say they see Master Raju and some boy is also standing next to him. So, I have been friends with him since he was nothing.”He added: “He was very nice and kind and very misunderstood.
He is a very good man. After that he only offered me a role in Baaghi. We went to shoot a film in Ooty and many years later we did Chal Mere Bhai together.”
Why did he stop calling Salman “tu”
Raju revealed that fame changed the way he addressed his friend in public. “When Salman Khan became Salman Khan… 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 that?’ But I told him, “You’ve become a megastar and if I call you Salman tu, you’ll tell Sheri not to let me in next time and throw me out of the room because you’ll feel I’m insulting you.”
“People would call me his chamcha”
Talking about how their dynamic developed, Raju said, “We used to talk about anything. Salman and I used to swim naked, but I don’t expect that today, he is a big star today.”He added, “If I go now and stay on his sets and in his house all the time, people will call me his chamcha.”
Stress during a blackbuck case
Salman Khan was implicated in a poaching case in 1998 during the shooting of Chal Mere Bhai. Raju admitted that at that moment the actor was under a lot of stress.“Yes, he was tense, but it didn’t show on the surface. But the environment around him was tense,” said Raju. “There was a time when most of Salman’s money went to court cases and hiring big lawyers.”He added: “He told me that most of his earnings go to this. He always said he was 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 it.”
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“He is not calculating, he is pure in soul”
Describing Salman’s personality, Raju said, “He was funny, he never thought before he said anything and he never thought much before making friends. He is pure at heart.”“He was not calculating or manipulative. He is a very easy-going person and that is why he was often caught in arguments,” he added.
“He doesn’t work from the mind, he works from the heart”
Raju also talked about Salman’s emotional volatility in relationships. “Salman never controlled his emotions,” he said.“Sometimes he would go around cursing while standing outside someone’s house. He would scream while standing outside his ex-girlfriend’s house, hit someone, so he couldn’t control his emotions.”Defending him, Raju added, “He is a very nice person. He doesn’t work from his mind. He works from his heart.”Although Raju did not elaborate on the incident, Salman Khan reportedly created a scene outside ex-girlfriend Aishwarya Rai’s residence soon after their break-up in 2002.
