Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan at their candid best. (Courtesy:Sarmadsalmanfan)
Bollywood is in the business of telling and selling stories. For as long as the Hindi film industry has existed, the stories behind the silver screen have captured the imagination of the public as much as the ones on celluloid. Some would argue that these tales of real men and women who built the industry have aged better than most cinematic creations. In this context, any documentation of Bollywood and its role in Indian pop culture would be incomplete without the mention of superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, two parts of the Khan holy trinity – Aamir Khan being the third – ruling the industry for over three decades now. While their individual and combined contributions to the Hindi film industry are tangible through their box office collections, career longevity and palpable superstardom, the friendship between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, over the years, has all the trappings of a Bollywood blockbuster.
Let us take a deep dive into their epic friendship over the decades
The beginning
It would almost be impossible to sketch Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan's glorious individual runs at the movies without a mention of the other. The two debuted around the same time – Salman Khan made his acting debut in 1988 and interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan's first acting project to begin production Dil Dariya, began shooting in 1988. He followed this up with a bunch of successful television projects before making his Bollywood debut in 1992 with Deewana.
The actors' paths crossed in 1995 when they worked together in Karan Arjun, a reincarnation drama that featured them as brothers and gave Bollywood several iconic dialogues and songs. The movie's success and its subsequent pop culture relevance laid the foundation for the star's friendship and bromance in the popular imagination.
Following this, in 1998, Salman Khan played an extended cameo role in one of Shah Rukh Khan's most successful films, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. SRK too appeared in Salman Khan's Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, thus beginning a tradition of gracing each other's selected films in special appearances. Cut to 2023, the sheer euphoria of seeing the stars together in an extended action sequence of SRK's Pathaan proves that some things just get better with time.
The two actors also came together on screen in Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) and Om Shanti Om (2007). During this period, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan also did not shy away from waxing eloquent about each other in interviews.
However, signs of trouble first arose when the sets of Shah Rukh Khan's Chalte Chalte bore the brunt of Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai's tumultuous relationship. Salman Khan was reported to have created a scene of the sets of the film that resulted in losses for SRK's production house and Aishwarya Rai being replaced by Rani Mukerji in the film. But things really soured between the two superstars in 2008.
The brawl
Like all great stories, the SRK- Salman Khan friendship saga is also not without its conflicts. In 2008, at Katrina Kaif's birthday party on July 18, a spat broke out between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Needless to say, the fight made headlines and visuals of the superstars leaving the party with grim expressions were plastered on entertainment journals. As per a report by Masala, “the very public fight” between the superstars “almost came to blows”.
Following the fight, the two remained tight-lipped about one another but reports of them taking subtle digs at each other often made headlines.
The Baba Siddique Factor and Friendship 2.0
The issue between the two remained unsolved for over five years until Baba Siddique played the catalyst and made the two superstars hug and make up at his Iftar party in 2013. [Watch the video here]. Following this, the two actors appeared on each other's shows and hyped up one another's upcoming releases.
In 2016, during an awards function, the actors were seen hugging each other and seemingly getting emotional when they were shown the rushes of Karan Arjun on the big screen. They danced to the song on stage and even wiped each other's sweat off their faces.
During SRK's 2018 appearance on Salman Khan's reality show Dus Ka Dum, he said about their friendship,“Salman yaar main agar kabhi trouble mein hun…actually, mujhse zyada agar meri family kabhi trouble mein hai toh tum ho. (If I am ever in trouble or if my family is in trouble, I have you, Salman.)” To this, Salman Khan was quick to admit, “Woh toh hai (That's true).”
In a turn of fate, Salman Khan was the first to extend support to Shah Rukh Khan when King Khan's son was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in 2021. In the interim, they also were a part of each other's projects such as Zero and Tubelight.
Pathaan and Tiger
Cementing their position as one of Bollywood's most bankable duos and superstars, the actors came together for Pathaan, SRK's magnum opus after a bunch of professional failures and personal trials. While SRK was in the role ofPathaan, Salman Khan reprised his role as Tiger, hinting at further collaborations as part of the Yash Raj spy universe.
Now, as SRK awaits the release of Jawaan, Salman Khan could not stop gushing about the prevue. He wrote, "Pathan jawan ban gaya, outstanding trailer, absolutely loved it. Now this is the kind of movie we should see in theatres only. I toh for sure seeing it 1st day ko hi. Mazaa ahh gaya wahhhhh (too much fun).”
To this, SRK replied, “Pehle Bhai, issi liye aapko hi dikhaya tha. (That is why I showed it you first, brother). Thanks for your wishes and booking the first ticket already. Love you."
Well, it looks like SRK and Salman Khan will continue to live up to the lyrics of their Karan Arjun song Yeh Bandhan Toh Pyaar Ka Bandhan Hai.