Actor Sharat Saxena says superstar Salman Khan has been very generous to recommend him in a lot of his films and recalls how one of their earliest collaborations Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge panned out for them. In the 2002 thriller directed by Pankaj Parashar, Saxena played Salman's father. Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge also starred Dia Mirza and Sushmita Sen. In an interview with Rajshri Unplugged, Sharat Saxena recalled how he came on board the film after someone suggested his name and he was shortlisted. "Then they said, 'This guy is dark in colour, Salman is fair. How will he look his father?' The film's writer said, 'He is not his real father, he adopts him.' Then I was able to continue with the film. "There's a scene in the film, in which I tell my son that he is not my real son. So I asked the director, 'Emotionally how high do you want me to take the scene?' He said I should do what I feel like. So when Salman and I were doing the scene, and if you watch the film now, you will realise that the scene's emotional intensity is so high that I was crying without any glycerin. Salman started to cry without any glycerin, and we had a great scene," he added. The veteran actor recalled that after wrapping up the shoot, Salman invited him to his farmhouse, which was the first time he went there. Saxena said there is a pond in the farmhouse, which has a 20-ft waterfall. When he visited it, Pankaj Parashar was also there. "I didn't know how to swim, Pankaj asked me, 'Will you jump from there?' I said no! He said, 'What if I tell you to?' I said when a director tells me to jump, I jump, but otherwise I am not mad to jump from there. Next day, they placed the shooting there at the farmhouse and made me jump! "The stunt director made me wear a floater inside the shirt and then I jumped! But it was a good experience working with Pankaj Parashar and Salman Khan liked my work in that film. He has been kind enough to recommend me in a lot of his films. Be it a big or a small role, he does recommend, and I feel nice to work with him," he added. Saxena has featured in several Salman Khan films, including Ready, Bodyguard, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Race 3 and Dabangg 3. Saxena was last seen in films like Vidya Balan's Sherni, which released on Prime Video, and Milan Luthria's Tadap in 2021. Salman is currently awaiting the release of his next, Tiger 3.
