In Bollywood, he is known to be bighearted. So Salman Khan’s benevolent moves hardly come as a surprise. But the superstar — for some time now — has been helping his ex-girlfriend Somy Ali run her Florida-based non-profit-organisation, No More Tears (NMT).
The American foundation that rescues women from domestic abuse has been “struggling financially” for a while, and Somy is strictly reliant on private donors and government funding. “But the grants have not come through due to the state of the economy. Our country is struggling as a whole,” says Somy. So private donors are really pivotal for NMT’s sustainability at the moment.”
That’s where Salman enters the picture. Somy maintains that her ex-boyfriend and his friends “have done more than enough” for NMT.
“It’s only due to their donations that we have sustained this far,” says the 35-year-old former actor. Apparently, Salman’s friends donated more than $1,50,000 to NMT last year.
“Some of his friends have contributed, but they choose to remain anonymous and I respect them for it,” confirms Somy. “Salman doesn’t owe me anything. The fact that he has encouraged his friends to donate is proof of his large heartedness. Personally, I would never ask him for help. Probably that’s why we have been friends for 20 years. We respect each other, but don’t expect anything in return.”
{{/usCountry}}“Some of his friends have contributed, but they choose to remain anonymous and I respect them for it,” confirms Somy. “Salman doesn’t owe me anything. The fact that he has encouraged his friends to donate is proof of his large heartedness. Personally, I would never ask him for help. Probably that’s why we have been friends for 20 years. We respect each other, but don’t expect anything in return.”
{{/usCountry}}At the same time, Somy accepts that NMT, founded around four years ago, is “hanging by a thread.”
“Initially, I used $2,86,000 of my own money to fund my charity, but those funds have now depleted. So it is a daily struggle,” says Somy, who acted in films like Andolan (1995), Yaar Gaddar (1994), and Aao Pyar Karen (1994).
Ask Somy — who has rescued 182 victims since 2008 — if she intends to team up with Salman’s Being Human foundation, and she says: “No (plans) so far. Salman and my missions are different.” Lastly, does she watch Salman’s films? “No, I really do not get time to keep up with films due to NMT. Abuse has no days off and neither do I,” she says.