The Quint brings you an excerpt from Salman Khan’s biography Being Salman authored by Delhi-based journalist Jasim Khan.
The book published by Penguin India is now available in all book stores.
Being Salman has fifteen chapters on the life of one of Bollywood’s popular, yet most controversial actors, Salman Khan. The book traverses though the life of the actor, his family lineage, career, controversies and his love life.
Following is an excerpt from a chapter in the book, ‘Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya?’, which talks about Salman Khan’s first love affair, which did not end in marriage.
Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya?
(Oh, Why Did I Fall in Love?)
Marriage is in the hands of God. Perhaps this is the reason it could not materialize on more than one occasion in my case.Salman Khan, Bigg Boss press conference, 11 September, 2013
He usually avoids questions on his personal life. From Sangeeta Bijlani to Katrina Kaif, there have been women galore in his life. But few are aware of his first love.
Here is what Salman Khan’s mother Salma Khan said in an interview to Filmfare magazine in 1990:
My children never hide anything from me. I am more like a friend to them. They share every secret with me. Salman has had girlfriends since the age of thirteen. I have always encouraged him to bring them home.
Salman’s Bollywood affairs have been much talked about. However, one of his love stories has remained hidden from the limelight. That too a love which was on the verge of culminating in marriage. But destiny had something else in store. Many of Salman’s friends confess it was a time of great emotional upheaval for him. Many other beauties passed through his life after that. But none of them could turn into a life partner.
Salman has been questioned umpteen times about his marriage. His standard answer has been:
‘My marriage was averted many times. Perhaps God was kind to me. You can see from the married ones what I mean.’
He has admitted on India TV’s show Aap Ki Adalat that he has had five girlfriends in his life. He was rather slyly asked by the interviewer, ‘People associate you with two things: boozing and womanizing, which of these are true?’ ‘Both are true,’ answered Salman. ‘I have a very poor ratio in terms of girlfriends. I have had five girlfriends in forty-eight years. It is a very poor ratio.’
Four out of these five girlfriends are well known to the world. However, the fifth has always remained a mystery. Salman has always remained tight-lipped about this episode of his life.
This story dates back to the time when Salman was a student of St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. He was in his second year, but was mainly focused on his Bollywood career. As the grapevine has it, one Shaheen Jaffrey entered his life during this time. Shaheen is the maternal granddaughter of the famous star Ashok Kumar. His daughter Bharti was remarried to actor Saeed Jaffrey’s brother, Hamid Jaffrey. The couple had two daughters, Jeniv Advani and Shaheen Jaffrey.
So Shaheen is also Saeed Jaffrey’s niece. Shaheen has been a model by profession. She has strong connections with Bollywood. Her niece Kiara Advani has corroborated that Shaheen indeed was the first one to steal Salman’s heart. Kiara, who entered Bollywood with the movie Fugly in 2014, said this during an interview to the Times of India: Salman used to date Shaheen long ago. It is very much possible that she was his first love. My mother knows Salman for a long time as he has grown up in Bandra. He would always say to my mother that one day I will be a big star. Shaheen and Salman had been together for a long time. They used to go cycling together. My mother introduced Salman to Shaheen. She had been to Salman’s home on a number of occasions.
According to some accounts, Salman was nineteen when he was smitten by Shaheen. Salman’s red sports car was frequently spotted at the gate of St. Xavier’s College where Shaheen studied. It is said that the two were just about to tie the knot. Then Sangeeta Bijlani, the famous model, entered the plot. People say Sangeeta was a regular visitor to the same health club at Hotel Sea Rock where Salman and Shaheen used to go. Sangeeta was smarting from the pain of her break-up with her boyfriend Binju Ali at that time.
The real story of Salman’s and Shaheen’s parting of ways is still a mystery. However, we do know that Shaheen Jaffrey joined Cathay Pacific airlines after Salman bid adieu to her. Sangeeta Bijlani saw a chaste and sensitive human being in Salman Khan and soon they became close. It was a casual relationship in the beginning, but soon flames of passion ignited between the two. Sangeeta was older than Salman, and Salman was taken by her emotional maturity. He was at a crossroads and had no idea where to go.
According to gossip at that time, the Salman–Sangeeta affair lasted for six years, ending in 1994.
Sangeeta admitted that she had parted ways with Salman. She had become close to Salman’s family. She explicitly said, ‘I regret the break-up because I had to distance myself from Salman’s family. They treated me as one of their own. I cannot repay the affection I got from that family. The moments spent in that home, on its balcony, are unforgettable. How can I ever forget those moments?’
The media was rife with speculation about Salman’s and Sangeeta’s marriage. Stardust even announced the couple was going to tie the knot on 27 May 1994. Sangeeta Bijlani was prompt in her denial. ‘I know you will not trust me. But wait for the date. You will find me unmarried the next day,’ she said. Instead, she went a step ahead and parted ways with Salman.
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