I am no longer doing films for friendship: Salman Khan

Salman says he’s beyond that phase where he did films for friends or just for the sake of it.

Actor Salman Khan says that in the last 27 years of his career he has finally reached a point where he does not sign a film to please others. “Now, I don’t want to do movies just for the sake of doing them. Earlier, when dates were available, I thought, ‘Let’s do a film’. I also considered a project, thinking, ‘Do the film, else my friendship will go bad.’ But now, things aren’t like that,” he says.

Salman Khan insists that at this stage in his career, he is trying to do movies that make viewers aspire to be “better people”. (Agencies)

The 49-year-old actor who started his career with a love story Maine Pyar Kiya (MPK; 1989) and then developed an image as an action star, insists that at this stage in his career, he is trying to do movies that make viewers aspire to be “better people”.

“If the audience comes out of the theatre after watching Prem (his name in films, like MPK and Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!, 1994) or Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi from Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), and says, ‘Oh, it was a superb character’, then it is a great achievement for me,” he says.

Salman and Sonam Kapoor in a still from Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.

Over the past few years, he has been doing action films. Therefore, he is happy to have returned to his romantic avatar. “In fact, if you leave the theatre as a better person; if a character in a film makes you feel like you need to be like that person, then there’s no better movie than that. Those are the kinds of films I’m trying to do in my career. My next few films are also going to be similar. Those are a very good lot (of movies),” he says.

Read: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo review

The actor is happy the Dabangg (2010) franchise’s next installment has turned out well. “A project with Kabir (Khan, director) might work out as well, besides some other good films.”