Salman Khan wants to work with Ananya, Janhvi Kapoor to help their careers, but media 'ruins it by doing age gap debate'

Salman Khan addressed the issue of his age gap with Rashmika Mandanna, his co-star in Sikandar who is 31 years younger than him.

Updated on: Mar 27, 2025, 17:31:15 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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Salman Khan's new film Sikandar is days away from release. The film, directed by AR Murugadoss, features Salman opposite Rashmika Mandanna for the first time. While some fans have praised the fresh pairing, others have criticised their 31-year age gap. Recently, at a media interaction for the film's promotion, Salman addressed why he wants to work with female stars of Rashmika's generation and chided the media for not understanding. (Also read: Salman Khan reacts to 31-year age gap with Rashmika Mandanna in Sikandar: ‘Tumko kyun dikkat hai bhai’)

Salman Khan said he would think 10 times before working with younger female stars.

Salman Khan on age gap with Rashmika Mandanna

Talking about working with newer stars, Salman said, "Now, people talk about the heroine of Sikandar, Rashmika. I was thinking that I will work with these new girls, and they will come up and become big stars. They will get bigger and better films. But you people ruined it for them with all the age gap talk."

The actor, who has earlier worked with young female stars like Disha Patani and Pooja Hegde, added, "Now if I want to work with Ananya (Panday) or Janhvi (Kapoor), I will have to think 10 times." As journalists urged him 'not to think', Salman replied with a smile, "I will think 10 times, but I'll still do it."

About Salman Khan's Sikandar

Salman, 59, has been paired opposite 28-year-old Rashmika in Sikandar. The AR Murugadoss film also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj, and Sharman Joshi. The film will be releasing in theatres on May 30, coinciding with Eid.

Salman urged the audiences to come to the theatres to watch Sikandar, as well as the other releases this week. "I am hoping people working get good bonuses on Eid so that they can watch Sikandar, Mohanlal sir's L2: Empuraan, and also Sunny Deol's new film (Jaat). Three big stars are coming with big films and I hope all work," he added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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