In an interview in 2009, Salman Khan had told NDTV that he had "saved the deer and fed it". He claimed that the group had spotted deer fawn trapped in the bushes. "We saw fawn caught in a bush. He was petrified. I took him out of there, gave him some water. The whole herd was there. (The fawn) ate a few biscuits and went away". The whole controversy started then, he claimed.