Back in 2004, Salman Khan took up the challenge of playing the role of an HIV-positive character in the film 'Phir Milenge'. Directed by Revathy, the film also starred Shilpa Shetty
Salman Khan
In his long and successful career, Salman Khan has been a part of multiple films, some of which were outright box office blockbusters while some also went unnoticed. It is a well know fact that Salman Khan made a cameo appearance in Karan Johar's debut directorial 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' at a time when no other actors was willing to play the role. However, that is not the only film that Khan took up a role that the entire industry turned down. But unlike 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', Salman's role in this film did not get popular.
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Back in 2004, Salman Khan took up the challenge of playing the role of an HIV-positive character in the film 'Phir Milenge'. In a recent social media post, producer of the film Shailendra Singh shared interesting information about the film and Salman's contribution. Singh revealed that Salman agreed to do the film for just Rs 1 at a time he was among the top paid actors of the country. The producer further revealed that all other actors in Bollywood had already turned down the project before Salman agreed to do it.
Directed by Revathi, 'Phir Milenge' focused on a sensitive subject that many Bollywood actors were reluctant to touch at the time. It was quite different from the roles that even Khan was doing at that time. For the unversed, in the film, Shilpa Shetty played the lead character, who is diagnosed with HIV and faces discrimination after being fired from her job. Salman Khan played her former lover who also contracts the virus, while Abhishek Bachchan appeared as her lawyer.
Phir Milenge producer on getting Salman Khan to do the film
Apart from being a youth icon with a massive popularity and fan following, Khan was also among the busiest actors in the industry. So it was undoubtedly a task to get Khan on board for the film. Talking about the same, Singh shared, “At that time, and even now, Salman is one of the biggest youth icons. So, imagine convincing Salman to do a film on AIDS when he is actually the Rambo, the Terminator, and the Superman of India. The plot line for the lead actor is that he gets HIV and then he dies. The whole industry said no, and that’s the day I called Salman Khan."
Fans were not happy
Singh revealed that fans were not happy to see their favourite superstar die onscreen in the climax. However, the impactful performance helped spread a message across to the youth about HIV. “Salman dies in the climax due to HIV. Obviously, his fans were not happy, but the message of the film got across the nation,” Singh added.
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