Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 18, 2019)

At an event on Thursday for his upcoming Eid release, Bharat, Salman Khan when asked if he was apprehensive about playing a character in his 70s, quipped, “Of course, Bharat is 70, but he has the swag and energy of a 40-year-old. In fact, the older portions, though limited are the most entertaining.” The film, produced by his brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Bhushan Kumar chronicles the sevendecade journey of a man and the country. Salman promised that unlike his earlier Eid release (Tubelight?) which was very emotional. Bharat “has more entertainment and less emotion”.

Katrina who plays Kumud, Salman’s Madam Sir, asserted that it is one of her best, if not the best character she has played till date. Hearing that, Salman grabbed the mic to say, “Thank You Priyanka.” No, it was not a slip of the tongue but a deliberate jibe at Priyanka Chopra who exited the film “in the nick of time”, as director Ali Abbas Zafar had tweeted, with an oblique reference to Nick Jonas. The couple got engaged soon after and are now married.

When a reporter, addressed a query to Katrina, referring to him as Bhaijaan, Salman was quick to correct him, “aapka Bhaijaan, inka nahin” (pointing at Katrina). When the actress was asked if not Bhaijaan, which jaan should she call him, Salman answered for her, “Meri Jaan.”

His leading lady was then asked why she doesn’t ‘like’ or comments on Salman’s Instagram posts. While she admitted the oversight was “not intentional”, to which her co-star joked, “But generally, you keep commenting on everything (else).”