When Salman Khan was reminded that Sonakshi Sinha used to call him ‘Salman uncle’

Salman Khan has a long history of working with female actors who are much younger than him. Around a decade ago, he spoke about being cast alongside actors such as Sonakshi Sinha, Asin and Kareena Kapoor in films.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: February 11, 2023 01:20 PM IST

3 min read

Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha worked together in the Dabangg films.

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It’s a widely acknowledged truth that female actors in Indian film industries have shorter careers because they’re either expected to give up after getting married, or they’re replaced by much younger actors. All this while, the male stars remain box office draws across decades. Salman Khan was questioned about this pattern in the industry, and he found himself cornered by a journalist while promoting his film Dabangg.

Released in 2012, the film served as the acting debut of Sonakshi Sinha, the daughter of actor Shatrughan Sinha. Sonakshi was in her early 20s back then, while Salman was over 45 years old. In an interview with Headlines Today, Salman was told that Sonakshi used to refer to him as ‘Salman uncle’ when she was younger, and was asked what he feels about that.

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Salman replied, “Nowadays, she doesn’t know what to call me, so she doesn’t call me anything.” Salman said that the age-difference between his co-stars is something that he thinks about, which is why he didn’t work with Kareena Kapoor for the longest time. “Sonakshi I’ve seen when she was 16-17. Kareena I’ve seen when she was nine years old. That’s why we didn’t work together for the longest time. I’ve worked with her older sister, now suddenly one girl I’ve seen who is nine years old…”

Asked why he isn’t working alongside actors of a similar age, he said that it is always better for the film industry if new faces come in, and rattled off names of his old co-stars, who were still working at the time. He said that he has no issues with working alongside actors like Shilpa Shetty or Madhuri Dixit again, but producers weren’t offering those films to him, and audiences would likely not be interested in watching such films. Reminded that most heroes are also producers, Salman said, “That has to do with them, I’ve got nothing to do with this.”

Salman will next be seen in the film Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, in which he is starring alongside Pooja Hegde, who is a full 25 years younger than him.

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