Sanjay Leela Bhansali, in a recent interview with Bollywood Hungama, spoke about his equation with Salman Khan and said, "Salman is a very dear friend. I wanted to work with him after "Padmaavat." Sanjay Leela Bhansali was to work with Salman Khan in a film titled Inshallah, co-starring Alia Bhatt. However, the film got shelved. "I put my best foot forward to make it happen. For whatever reason, it didn't turn out; we all change as people. So he has changed, in his mind I have changed. Of course, if I pick up the phone and talked to him, he will talk to me exactly the way, we have spoken in between also, he will talk to me exactly from where we left. So it's not like we are strangers or we do not like each other or we do not speak to each other," Sanjay Leela Bhansali told Bollywood Hungama.
"My utmost regard and respect for the person who did Khamoshi for me, who did Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam for me, and who stood by me during Sawariyaa. He has been an important part of who I am today and I will always respect him for it. The ball is in his court for him to decide if he wants to work with me," he added.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali worked with Salman in the 1999 hit film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which also starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Ajay Devgn. Besides Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Salman and Sanjay Leela Bhansali worked together in the 1996 film Khamoshi: The Musical, which featured Manisha Koirala and Nana Patekar. The Bharat actor also made a special appearance in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed 2007 film Saawariya which marked the Bollywood debuts of Sonam Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor.