Ashneer Grover says he rejected Bigg Boss offer, would agree only if he gets higher fee than host Salman Khan: ‘No hard feelings’

In the interview with Zoom, Ashneer clarified that Salman lashing out at him was blown out of proportion in order to seek better TRPs on the show. “If you watch the footage, you’ll see I didn’t say anything negative about him. I was genuinely praising him. They invited me onto the show and turned it into a controversy. Perhaps that’s what the show required at that moment, and that’s acceptable,” he said.

Immediately after his appearance on Bigg Boss 18 alongside Salman, Ashneer had shared their photo on social media and written along with it, “I am sure the particular episode got great TRP/viewership,” Ashneer had posted. He also heaped praises on Salman and said, “Salman is a great host and actor. Salman knows what works on Bigg Boss. I’ve always praised Salman for his sense of self and business — not a single thing demeaning said for him ever,” he wrote.

Ashneer also revealed how he first met Salman in 2019 in order to offer him to become the brand ambassador for BharatPe, a fintech company co-founded by him. “I met Salman in May 2019 for three hours at JW Marriott Juhu to discuss the brand collaboration. It’s okay if he doesn’t remember me — I wasn’t a public figure then, and he meets so many people,” Ashneer recalled.

In 2023, on a podcast on Vaghera Vaghera, Grover had alleged that he had negotiated Salman’s brand ambassador fee down from Rs 7.5 crore to Rs 4.5 crore. He also mentioned that Salman’s team had refused him a photo with the actor at the time. However, Ashneer has reiterated that there’s no bad blood. “I appreciated him back then, which is why I collaborated with him. As far as I’m concerned, there are no hard feelings,” he said, adding “never say never” when asked if he’d ever collaborate with Salman again.

Also Read — ‘I thought my house was worth ₹10 crores’: Inside Ashneer Grover’s ultra-luxurious Delhi home

Meanwhile, Ashneer’s new reality show Rise & Fall brings together 16 celebrities from varied fields like films, television, music, politics, entrepreneurship, sports, and social media, set in two contrasting worlds with a fierce battle for survival. It’s based on the British series of the same name, originally hosted by Greg James. This will mark Ashneer’s maiden turn as a host as he’s previously appeared as a judge on Shark Tank India.