Salman Khan had tears in his eyes during Maine Pyar Kiya’s ‘Kabootar Ja Ja’ shoot: ‘I knew that this was the role for me’

Salman Khan first entered the movie business as an actor back in 1988 in a supporting role in Biwi Ho Toh Aisi but it was with Sooraj Barjatya's 1989 film Maine Pyar Kiya that Salman started his journey as a superstar. In a recent interview, when asked about his favourite film, Salman did not miss a moment before naming Maine Pyar Kiya. He also shared an anecdote from the film' shoot.

In a chat with Hello! Indo-Arabia, Salman recalled a moment from the shoot of the famous song "Kabootar Ja Ja" which brought tears to his eyes. He shared, "I was about 18 years old, and there was a truly memorable moment during the shoot for the song 'Kabootar Ja Ja Ja' when I suddenly knew that this was the role for me. During several narrations, I'd imagine Jackie Shroff or Anil Kapoor in those roles, but I could never actually see myself doing big films. That moment was the first time I really felt, 'Yes, I can do this'. I had tears in my eyes."

Salman was selected after many auditions by the Rajshris for the lead role in Maine Pyar Kiya. Alongside him, the film also starred debut actor Bhagyashree. While Salman continued to be a movie star and appeared in many hits across the 1990s, Bhagyashree took a break from films after a few years to focus on her family.

Even after the success of Maine Pyar Kiya, Salman had to wait a few years for his next hit. During IIFA Awards 2022, Salman spoke about that phase of his life and shared, "After Maine Pyar Kiya was released, Bhagyashree decided she didn’t want to work anymore, because she wanted to get married. Aur wo pura credit leke chali gayi (she took all the credit). For six months, I had no movie. And that’s when a ‘devta saman aadmi’ (God-like man), Ramesh Taurani, entered my life. My father at that point of time paid Rs 2,000 and coaxed producer GP Sippy to make a fake announcement in a film industry magazine that he had signed me for a film. GP did that but there was no picture. But Ramesh Taurani went to Sippy’s office and paid Rs 5 lakh for the music of the film. It was because of those Rs 5 lakhs that I finally got a film called Patthar Ke Phool (1991)."

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