It’s rare to find a Bollywood friendship that stands the test of time. The bond between Master Raju (Raju Shreshtha) and superstar Salman Khan is one where they grew up together in Mumbai’s Bandra and spent their formative years together. In a recent interaction, actor Raju Shrestha aka Master Raju spoke about spending his childhood with the actor and said that Salman He has always been uncalculating and open-hearted, unlike what many would like to believe. He also spoke of many cases of Salman Khan exaltation in the past, saying that the actor follows his heart, not his head.
Salman Khan’s childhood friend Raju Shreshtha talks about growing up together
Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, Raju admitted that he knew Salman a lot before starring with him in the 1972 film Baaghi. He said, “I know Salman Khan long before Baaghi. We come from the same area. We both come from Bandra. We used to ride bikes together, when he was doing Patthar Ke Phool, before shooting, he used to practice skating on Bandstand. I used to ride a bike and he used to hold on to the luggage rack and practice skating”.
While Raju started acting in films as a child, Salman made his debut much later. Talking about the same, Raju said, “Salman and I have been friends since the time when people used to say that Look, Master Raju is standing and a boy is also standing next to him. So I have been friends with him since I was nothing. 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 the film in Ooty and years after that, we did Chal Mere Bhai. together.”
Master Raju recalls Salman’s reaction when he started calling him ‘aap’
Raju shared that he changed the way he addressed his friend Salman after becoming a superstar. “When Salman Khan became Salman Khan and after that, when I met him… earlier, I used to call him ‘Salman tu’ and then I started calling him ‘Bhai aap’. I used to call him ‘Bhai aap’ when I was with people and Salman would ask me, ‘Why are you calling me that?’ But I told him that ‘you have become a mega star and if I call you ‘Salman you’, then you will tell Shera (Salman’s bodyguard) not to let me in next time and you will tell him to push me out of the room because you will feel that I am insulting you.’”
Sharing more about their changed dynamic, she said, “We used to talk about anything. Salman and I have gone skinny dipping, but I don’t expect this today, he is a big star today. If I now go and am on his set and at his house all the time, people will call me his chamcha.”
‘Salman sent much of his earnings to lawyers during the black dollar case’
Salman Khan was involved in the 1998 antelope poaching case during the Chal Mere Bhai shooting. When asked if the star was stressed during the shooting of the film, Raju said, “Yes, he was stressed, but at first glance, it was not noticeable, but the environment around him was stressful. There was a time when a big chunk of Salman’s money was going towards court cases and he was hiring big lawyers, he had told me that a lot of money was being spent there. He had told me that a big chunk of his earnings was going towards this. He has always said that he is innocent and to prove that he had to spend so much.” a lot of money and go through a lot of stress. “He told me he didn’t want to do all this.”
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‘Salman swore and shouted while he was under his girlfriend’s building’
Raju, who called Salman “happy go lucky”, said, “He was funny, he never thought before saying anything and never used to think much before making friends. He is clean at heart. He was neither calculating nor manipulative. He is a very easy person and that is why he has often been caught in controversies.”
Raju admitted that Salman has behaved badly towards women in his life, but also defended him, saying that he thinks from the heart. “Salman has never had control over his emotions. Sometimes he would go and hurl insults while standing under someone’s building. He would shout while standing under his ex-girlfriend’s building, he would hit someone so as not to control his emotions. He is a very sweet man. He doesn’t work with his mind. He works with his heart,” she said. While Raju did not clarify which incident he was referring to, Salman Khan allegedly created a scene outside his ex-girlfriend Aishwarya Rai’s house shortly after their breakup in 2002.