Box-office king Salman Khan has dismissed accusations of nepotism for launching his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma in the upcoming film, Loveyatri.
The 52-year-old actor contends that someone would have launched Aayush, if not him, as he has been working hard for his Bollywood debut for years.
“He has been training hard. I knew this nepotism thing would come up.. He is the son of a politician; how can you put him into this nepotism thing. This is the only one place where nepotism cannot work at all. It is the audience that will make you a superstar or will reject you no matter whose son or a brother-in-law you are,” Salman said at a special Loveyatri concert in Mumbai.
Citing his own example, Khan said it is “totally the audience who decide what they like and what not”.
“You never know what they would like. You may be the best looking guy and best actor and they just reject you and you can have nothing. And then there is something about you that audience goes to watch your film in cinema halls but this is till your last film.” Salman further points out that the film industry has become a very competitive field which he believes is good.
He says, even today, he gets nervous on a Friday, especially when his films are releasing, be it as an actor or producer.
Recalling his earlier days, Salman said, “I remember when Maine Pyaar Kiya released, I went on a bike with my friend to a theatre to see the audience’s reactions. During the interval, people saw me and I had to run away from there. It is still one of my happiest moments.”
He continued, “I am one of the fortunate ones that even my flop films do business of over Rs 100 crore. I told Aayush and Warina that even if you deliver a flop film it should do Rs 160 crore at the box office.”
Loveyatri, previously titled Loveratri, ran into legal trouble because of its title after certain religious quarters accused Salman of hurting their sentiments. However, the film is releasing on October 5, as per schedule.
