Nikhil Advani, who made his directorial debut under Dharma Productions, revealed how Salman Khan helped him to get projects after his fallout with Karan Johar. In an interview with Galatta Plus, Nikhil Advani revealed that many people had an inkling that he didn't direct Kal Ho Naa Ho. So, he wanted to prove himself and directed Salaam-e-Ishq with an ensemble cast. "Salaam-e-Ishq was an outcome of arrogance that, 'Okay, people feel that I have not directed Kal Ho Naa Ho, I'll direct six love stories. One will be a Mani Ratnam type love story, one will be a Gulzar type, one will be Karan Johar type, one will be a Kundan Shah type'. So, I said I will direct six love stories. Sunil Manchanda (producer) gave me the option. He said, 'Let's make something like Love Actually'," said the director.
Talking about Salman Khan's help when he walked out of Dharma Productions, he said, "Salman Khan prides himself on being the messiah of the industry, so the minute I walked out of the doors of Dharma Productions, I got a call from Salman saying, 'Come and meet me'. (He then said) 'Now you will work for me, you will make a film for me'. And I appreciate that. I did Hero because Salman called me up, even after I started D-Day. After D-Day, the next film I did was Hero. Hero and Katti Batti were two big flops, one week after another."
Nikkhil's upcoming theatrical release is John Abraham-Sharvari's Vedaa which will release on Independence Day. Nikhil Advani tried different genre and directed films like Chandni Chowk to China, D-Day, Hero, Katti Batti. He produced films like Lucknow Central, Satyameva Jayate, Baazaar, to name a few.