Talking to DNA India about the now famous "hug at Iftar party", Salman Khan's father Salim Khan says that he doesn't "see ever-lasting friendship between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan." He further adds that "there can never be any love between any two big stars, only courtesy", and that SRK has always treated him with civility and respect despite the feud between SRK and his son Salman Khan.
Below are the details of Salim Khan's DNA India interview.
"I am happy that my son has taken the initiative. It (the hug) was a sensible thing to do and a much-needed gesture and Shah Rukh reciprocated.
Please don’t give so much importance to it. There are disagreements between miyaan-biwi, neighbours, society and so many other individuals. They (Salman and Shah Rukh) are actors and rivals. Inke problems hote hain aur solve bhi ho jaate hain. I have always maintained that there can never be any love between any two big stars, only courtesy. It is not possible for big stars to love each other. Even stars like Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar were just courteous to each other. Salman and Shah Rukh must have decided to be mature and courteous and that is something that must be maintained.
Just because they patched up it’s not as if the country’s problems will get solved, no? They hugged each other lekin isse Uttarakhand mein jo ho raha hai, ya Kashmir mein, those problems won’t get solved. Kaande ka bhav toh nahi girega na? The disagreements between stars are not national problems as the media is making it out to be.
It (the Salman-SRK fight) involves an issue between two people and there can be many reasons for that. I have been married to my wife for 50 years and to Helen for 30 years. Even we have problems, but that’s natural, lekin hum log apne galti maanke, we move ahead. If my son and Shah Rukh have done that, it’s a good thing.
They both are self-respecting people. They must have decided to put aside their ego instead of thinking about what hurt them. Maybe they felt foolish behaving in a childish manner and instead decided to behave like mature adults on that day. Media should be talking on much more important issues than this.
We are all civilised people and Shah Rukh has always treated me with civility and respect whenever we have met. I am his senior and he has given me that respect. That’s our culture. I met him at the Don premiere... My other children talk to him. Javed (Akhtar) and I stopped being partners years ago but we are fighting for the rights of Zanjeer together. In the world there is no substitute for love and peace."
Only SRK and Salman Khan can tell what "the hug" actually meant. Meanwhile, fans of both the stars and their Bollywood well-wishers don't expect "ever-lasting friendship" between them either, but everyone is happy that they let the bygones be the bygones and moved ahead.