Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; January 23, 2014)

Sohail Khan, 43, much like his father, is a people’s person, but happy in his small world consisting of his family and close friends. He is understanding, thinks before he acts and loves his sleep. Unlike his brother Salman, who works every single day, he is proud of times that he is not working and just spending with his family. He is not a package guy who takes a 15-day break after working for three years. He takes his time and enjoys the process. He is a big fan of Raju Hirani, loves his dad the most and is extremely protective about his sister Arpita, with whom he shared a room before getting married. Be it his wife Seema, his friends or himself, the one commonality is that they all have a small world. Director of the most anticipated film, Jai Ho, he talks to Bombay Times about the caring Salman, the Parsi Arbaaz and the commonality between them all. Excerpts:
 
Why did you think of directing Jai Ho?
I am a big Rajkumar Hirani fan. When you see a Raju Hirani film, there is great entertainment, but you also come back being a better person. When I heard the script of Jai Ho, the idea of each one helping three people was very noble and I felt I could contribute to it as director. I felt it could change a few lives. If you intend to make a good film, you will make good money. But if you want to make good money, you will not make a good film. My dad said, ‘Achhi film banao, be sincere about it, don’t worry about yeh kitna paisa banaegi. Make a good film, money will follow.’
 
Who are you most attached to?
My dad. He is a very easy guy. The good thing about him is that he has no agenda. He doesn’t want to please this one or that one. Even though Salman Bhai is such a big star, my dad will give unconditional love to all of us equally. When you go out sometimes, even your own friends will ask you, ‘How is Salman?’ before they ask you about you. I love Salman Bhai and am so proud of him but it’s great to have a father who treats you equally as a human being. Of course, Salman Bhai is the first child and so dad loves him the most. Dad always told me, ‘Your hands are for a certain reason, your legs are for a certain reason and your brain is for a certain reason. You are supposed to think with your brain’. He said, ‘We all react with anger and panic, but if you have the time, think about it. Put yourself in that position, do your due diligence and find out the truth.’ He will always say, ‘Kal baat karte hain.’ I have learnt to take decisions after sleeping over them for a night. And many a time, when I wake up, I thank God I didn’t do that. ‘Diplomatic’ is considered to be a bad word, but in reality it is good. There is no need to hurt others with your opinion. My father has a lot of friends. He once told me, ‘Beta when people were making money, I was making friends’. He is not working for a very long time but when he picks up the phone, people respond. He has always been close to Kishore Lulla even though we did not work together for a long time. Once I met Kishore and said, ‘I am really sorry. My dad calls you many times and asks you to get work done for so many people. I hope you don’t feel bad?’ He said, ‘Sohail, I will always do it for your father. Have you noticed? He has never called for his work. It’s always for somebody else. When he can make that effort, who am I?’ That’s when I realise what he means by saying invest in people. He always says, “Achha karo, achha hoga.’ My father says, ‘You can trust a person who has old friends and servants.’ My dad is somebody in general who will sort you out. If you have done something wrong, he will tell you, you can’t run away from it, you have to correct it, rectify it and do something good to compensate it. He will not just comfort you. Nobody is perfect and if you have unintentionally made a mistake, apologise.
 
Who are your friends in the industry?
Anna (Suniel Shetty) and Riteish Deshmukh. Past 22 years that I have known Anna, he has been consistent with me. Whenever he enters the room, I will stand up. I respect Sachin Tendulkar not because of how good he is as an athlete but the way he has conducted himself with dignity in his life. Ijaz, our physio, tells us that Sachin has played only 50-60% of his calibre as he did not want to get injured. He did not put in his best as he wanted to be consistent. I have never seen Anna change. Riteish belongs to a very powerful political family and yet, he is so normal and humble.
 
What is Salman like?
Like mine, even his world is very small. Everyone wants to interpret his behaviour and attitude. People who know him feel he is always being misjudged. He is emotional, impatient and impulsive, but has understood that and is growing each day. There have been moments of his life that have been vulnerable and have been taken advantage of. When I am told that he is Salman Khan, that’s why he has got away with it, I say, ‘He is Salman Khan, that is why he has got stuck in it.’ As a brother, he is how he is supposed to be. That’s why I call him bhai, not just because he is my older brother, but he takes great care of you. What I love about him is that you can depend on him and he is there for you. He works every single day and now lives at the farm. He considers me to be a friend’s friend. He knows that I have more time in my hands and knows that I would have always thought out something before I say it, so if he wants to know something about the family, he will consult me. He gathers information and knows he will get an unbiased answer.
 
How different are you from your brothers Salman and Arbaaz?
For me, there are no extremes. Neither do I panic nor do I get excited. I go with the flow. I trust everyone and don’t judge the person and will judge only the circumstance. Usually, people say things in an outburst and then they regret it the next day as they may not have meant it. So when you are calm about it, people think you are cold as you are not reacting. Actually, I am cold as I am concerned but not reacting. I am very emotional and sensitive but that’s why it gets misinterpreted by even closed ones. I will rationalise it and talk about it when I can have a conversation about it. I don’t like crowds, so people could think that I am snooty as I will take a corner and sit down. I have my family and only go out with them and my close friends. I meet everybody but I am not a socialising factor. For me, the smaller the world the happier it is. Arbaaz Bhai is a Parsi. He is very correct and his world is smaller than even me. I am a little more understanding than him. He takes everything at face value. For instance, sometimes, in formality, you talk to someone about doing a film together. I will understand that he is saying yes, but in reality, he doesn’t want to do. Arbaaz Bhai will take that at face value and will wait till the person formally says no. Both Salman and Arbaaz bhai trust people immensely. But what is dissimilar is Salman bhai is impulsive and impatient and Arbaaz bhai is black-and-white. But one thing we all three have a problem with is if someone does batameezi with us. We only give respect not because people deserve it but we want it back. We are extra nice to people, but some people respect it when you call them ‘Sir’ and some people get carried away and say, ‘idhar aa.’ Then you have to tell them, ‘We don’t call you Sir so that you can say ‘idhar aa’.’ The same thing with our dad. My dad is the nicest person in the world and he will give everyone respect. Once I asked him, ‘Daddy, why are you nice to everyone?’ He said, ‘Beta, it’s not that he deserves it. I want it back.’ We all caught on to that. So, we are scared of any provocation.
 
How did you meet your wife Seema?
I met her at Chunky and Bhavana’s wedding in Delhi and started dating her. Her dad met me after four months and in his first meeting, told me, either you get married to her or we will get her married off. I went to the toilet, washed my face and reasoned out with myself that I would not be able to get a girl like Seema and agreed to marry her immediately. What I liked about her was that her world again was very small like me. So, I knew if she is a part of my life, we will fit into each other’s worlds well and we did. My parents and brothers make all the wives in our family extremely comfortable. Before calling me up, they will call Seema. We live separately, but we will have one meal together mostly at dad’s house. We don’t have a pretentious family and we spend quality time with each other any time of the day.