When Salim Khan told Salman Khan to follow Sooraj Barjatya’s example on dealing with death: ‘When we go, this is how the funeral should be’

Salman Khan spoke about the time Salim Khan was moved by the way Sooraj Barjatya conducted himself at his mother's funeral.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | June 1, 2023 01:23 PM IST

3 min read

Salim Khan and Salman Khan were moved by Sooraj Barjatya's dignified reaction at his mother's funeral. (Photo: Salman Khan/Instagram)

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Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya have been friends since the time they both started their careers in the 1989 film Maine Pyar Kiya. Over the years, the actor-director have collaborated on various films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Hum Saath Saath Hain and Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo. The two have shared a warm friendship off screen as well and in an old chat during the 25th anniversary of Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Salman spoke about the time the Khan family attended the funeral of Sooraj’s mother Sudha Barjatya. Salman recalled that his father Salim Khan told him that this was the most dignified way that one could conduct a funeral and he should keep this in mind for the day he passes away.

Salman shared that Sooraj stayed by his mother’s side for 6-8 months during the time she was not keeping well. When she passed away, the funeral was held at Shivaji Park and Salman, along with his brothers Arbaaz and Sohail, and father Salim Khan went to pay their respects. “You could evidently see that Raj babu (Sooraj’s father Raj Barjatya) and Sooraj were destroyed. I have never seen anybody… I am very close to my family so I know what he must have gone through. His eyes were swollen, Raj babu’s eyes were swollen but when we walked in, he greeted each and every one like you have come for a wedding,” Salman recalled.

Salman further recollected that Sooraj’s eyes were swollen shut and it was obvious that he had cried a lot before coming to the funeral. “You could tell from Sooraj’s eyes that he couldn’t see, his eyes were fully swollen and Raj babu as well… that they have cried and they have come to this function and now they are in a function where everyone is coming and they are greeting everybody saying ‘thank you for coming’. Like actually someone is congratulating you at a wedding,” he shared.

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Salman said that as soon as they left and sat in the car, his father said something that has still stayed with him. “We left, we sat down in the car and my father tells me ‘when we go away, you have to learn this one thing from Raj babu and Sooraj, that this is the way funerals are going to be conducted. If someone cries and makes a scene, I’ll get up and hit you’,” Salman shared.

Salman said that the function was “dignified” as the Barjatyas were aware that they have come for a ceremony and were conducting themselves in a respectable way. “I don’t know how he did it,” he said about Sooraj.

Sooraj’s mother Sudha Barjatya passed away shortly after the release of Hum Aapke Hain Koun.

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