In his first public appearance after the Bombay High court suspended his sentence, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan on Sunday thanked his fans who stood by him in his trying times, saying “I owe them a lot”.
“I owe them a lot. I respect them and I appreciate what they did for me… All those prayers, fasts, etc. I don’t know if I deserve all that, but I have got them and I accept that and I will try to increase my levels,” Salman told reporters in Sonmarg. The actor, however, avoided talking about his case and the legal proceedings.
“My problems are too small to talk about. We are here to talk about tourism here and let’s focus on that,” he said. Salman is currently shooting here for his film ‘Bajrangi Baijan’ directed by Kabir Khan who has also directed the actor in ‘Kick’. He said all those fans who prayed for him should pray for themselves.
“Now they should pray for themselves apart from me,” the actor said. The actor evaded a direct reply to a question on whether he intended to join politics, saying, politics was a social work as well and he had an ambition to do lot of good work. “I have an ambition to do a lot of good. That is what I believe. If I can make somebody’s life better, then I will do whatever it takes for me to do. Social work is superb and politics in my thinking is a social work. I think there is no better man than a good politician and no worse man than a bad politician,” he said. Salman also declined to comment on the political situation in Kashmir saying “let’s leave that to politicians like the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister.”
When asked if he would he like to be brand ambassador of Kashmir, he said, “If I had to be brand ambassador, I would like to be brand ambassador of India. We have shot one movie here, we will surely shoot another movie here.”
The actor also said he would like to see cinema halls re-open in Kashmir. “Everyone watches movies here. Cinema theatres should be re-opened here. We would love to premiere a film here if theatres are re-opened,” he said.
Once Salman heads back to Mumbai he will continue shooting for Sooraj Barjatya’s family film ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ with Sonam Kapoor.
