By going on record about Salman Khan’s unruly conduct on the sets of Sikandar , and that includes coming hours late and keeping the child actors awake till 2 am, director A.R. Murugadoss has again shed light on the lack of discipline and dedication among a section of superstars of Bollywood over the decades.
A director who has worked with Salman corroborates Murugadoss’s allegations. “Murugadoss is absolutely right. Salman Khan never arrives on the set before 2-3 pm for the morning shift. He then has his lunch, takes a nap and then shooting starts not before 5 pm. Most filmmakers find it impossible to work with him. But pally producers like Sajid Nadiadwala allow Salman to do what he likes. Salman has never been given a reason to change his ways.”
In 2019, Sanjay Leela Bhansali shelved the Salman starrer Insha Allah for the actor’s indiscipline and bullying. The filmmaker took an instant decision to call off the project after repeated interference by the star, vowing never to work with Salman. However, with him Bhansali did two of his best works Khamoshi and Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam.
Salman and Bhansali remains close friend but the director will never work with Salman again. In 2022 Salman came forward with a project for Bhansali to direct Salman and Shah Rukh Khan together.
The director declined the lucrative offer, saying , Shah Rukh yes, Salman never!
Salman is not the first superstar with a reputation for tardiness and indiscipline. Before him Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar and Shatrughan Sinha were repeated offenders.
Sharmila Tagore who worked with all three says, “If I was shooting with Kaka (Rajesh Khanna), Haribhai (Sanjeev) or Shatru I made sure I reached the shooting for the morning shift after lunch, or maybe later. It was annoying at first to be made to wait for hours. But eventually after working with them repeatedly, I got used to their timing eccentricities.”
In his defence, Shatrughan Sinha says, “I had an acute low blood-pressure problem for which I had to do yoga every morning. That combined with the late nights were the culprits. But once I came on the sets I left only when I completed my work. Haven’t my heroines told you this? The great and late Dilip Kumar saab taught me the lesson of my life during the shooting of Kranti. I would come at my usual SST (Shatru Standard Time). One day when I entered the set I saw him waving from his car as he left.”
While Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan are reputed for their punctuality , others have normalized late-coming.
Hema Malini, the only female hero with a commanding position to equal the male actors in her heydays says she would never allow to be taken for granted. “With me , the notorious latecomers came on time. When one of them arrived three hours late on the first day of shooting, I told him I was going home, and if he didn’t show up on time the next day, I would opt out. He was on time the next day.”
Hema feels the co-actors are to a large extent responsible for superstars’ tardiness. “If the director and the co-stars let it be known that the delays are unacceptable, they would stop.”
