Salman Khan Fan Website

Of all the spats in Bollywood, the one between Salman and his ex-protégé Himesh has undoubtedly been a little more celebrated than others. Though both have now become smart enough to pass it off as a joke, the undercurrent was evident on the sets of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa where Salman came as a guest to promote his next film Yuvvraaj that releases on November 21 (Khan was joined by Katrina much later).

After a grand entry Salman didn’t take time to make a dig at Himesh about his trademark nasal style of singing. Himesh tried to be indifferent and refused to remark on it.

The actor was his usual flamboyant self making casual conversation with the contestants, sometimes playing the Love Guru for them. Like Aasma, the participant from Oman, he even made fun of Katrina (who joined him later) for her poor Hindi, all in good spirit, of course. A true star, Salman appeased everyone on the sets except for Himesh, who absorbed all the sarcastic blows mostly with a smile.

If one remembers, it was the year 2007 on the same platform of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa when Salman and Himesh came face-to-face for the first time after their rift. And Salman, who was there for the promotions of Partner had immediately signalled his intention. He entered and hugged the other judges of the show - Bappi Lahiri, Shekhar, Ismail Durbar, but shook hands with Himesh.

When Himesh began to comment on his Rock gharana contestants, Salman kept interrupting him and kept on passing comments. Even then Himesh had chosen to be calm and and responded by praising Salman and acknowledging the star’s hand in his success. Salman did not back down and continued to be rude. Himesh looked wary.

Two years have gone by but nothing seems to have changed. Even as Salman stated he liked pulling Himesh’s leg, Himesh retorted, “Salman Bhai does it because he knows I won’t answer him back.” Salman again teased Himesh for his song like Tandoori Nights.

When Pratibha, one of the contestants, asked whether the empty seat next to him was for his beloved (Katrina hadn’t walked in then) Salman retorted, “My beloved? Arre woh toh Himesh hai” (Himesh is my beloved).

For a second everyone’s heart skipped a beat when Salman added, “Arrey Himesh, tune kitne dhun churaein hain abhi tak?” (So, how many tunes have you copied so far?) to which an irritated Himesh said, “Sir, kyon meri naak kata rahe ho? Maine bas ek hi dhun churaya tha, Santana ka… bas uske baad maine kaan pakad liya…” (Long ago I had copied one tune, that of Santana’s. And that was it.)

Later, Salman told the other judges on the show in a mock-serious tone, “Himesh’s nasal accent is a put-on, he never sang like this when he used to work with me.” He asked Himesh to sing for him to which Himesh said, “I only sing original songs.”

All’s well that ends well. The mentors Aadesh, Pritam, Shankar and Himesh — each dedicated a song to Salman and Katrina. The couple burnt the dance floor giving all the participants and the audience some wonderful moments to cherish.