‘Likh ke de Salman Khan ke baal ayenge’: What angry David Dhawan demanded from Govinda after Bhai took a break before Partner to work on personality

Salman’s sudden decision left David Dhawan furious, and he immediately called Govinda.

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The actor recalled, “David called and yelled at me. He said, ‘What did you do? Salman has left, and now he says he won’t work on the film for two months—he’s working on his personality. Tune picture band karwadi (You’ve stalled the film). He even said, ‘You have started playing politics on set.’ I told him, ‘I only said it for his good—at least one of us should look good.’ But David lost it and told me, ‘Likh ke de ke Salman Khan ke baal aayenge (You give me in writing that Salman will grow his hair).’ I said, ‘How can I write that?’”

For a while, the future of Partner looked uncertain, until David suddenly called Govinda three months later.

Govinda said, “Three months later, David called me again and said, ‘You’re a nice human being.’ I asked, ‘How come you had a change of heart?’ He replied, ‘Salman kya lag raha hai… he looks so handsome now. You’re too nice a person, you’re great at heart.’ I asked them, ‘Where are you guys now?’ and he said, ‘We are shooting for a song.’ I was like, ‘You restarted the shoot and never even informed me?’”

Govinda laughed as he narrated the incident. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, Partner was completed with Katrina Kaif and Lara Dutta as the female leads. The film went on to earn over ₹100 crore at the box office and became the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2007, with Govinda’s performance receiving special praise.