Sauntering into an afternoon press conference, Salman Khan cut a relaxed and jovial figure ahead of last night’s India versus Pakistan celebrity cricket match.
The T20 match was held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with more than 40 stars coming together to raise awareness about the Bollywood actor’s charity Being Human, which helps numerous causes around the world.
Khan urged India and Pakistan to unite, casting aside political and historical differences, and discussed the work of Being Human.
Although the charity did not benefit financially from the match itself due to a complexity in the Indian legal system regarding overseas fundraising.
Khan received a hefty donation of $200,000 from the Grand Midwest Hotel, where the stars were staying. “For us, this is [about] getting India and Pakistan not fighting or playing against each other, but playing.
And walking with each other,” he said. “We might get hammered by people back in Mumbai, but that’s a chance we’ve taken. We just want to show that we are together.”
The 44-year-old Wanted star also teased teammate Chunky Pandey for being frugal and refusing to lend him his sunglasses – although the Housefull actor took it in good spirits while cosying up with screen siren Ria Sen throughout the 20-minute conference in Media City.
Khan also bantered with Pakistani captain Shoaib Akhtar, claiming the fast bowler would be out to decimate India’s batsmen on the pitch. The fast bowler jokingly responded that he would be restarting a career spent tormenting his opponents, diplomatically adding a minute later that, “I love playing against India.
They give us a very hard time”. Although flanked by brother Sohail and Heyy Babyy star Ritesh Deshmukh, all eyes remained trained on Khan, with the A-lister shielding himself behind sunglasses from the familiar flash of a hundred cameras.
“Not everyone can be a leader, but a lot of people like me can be good followers,” said Deshmukh while thanking Khan for including him in his humanitarian efforts. And Khan, who has been known to fall out with fellow Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, pre-empted suggestions that his calls for unity may appear hypocritical.
“To anyone saying, ‘How strange is this – you talking about India and Pakistan being together, but you have a problem with some actors’... Some people don’t see eye to eye,” he said. “It happens everywhere. It could be within families or between neighbours. We’re just trying to make things easy and more comfortable for both sides.”