Salman and Mithoon get into verbal spat at award show

At a recently held award function there was a war of words between Salman Khan and singer-composer Mithoon Sharma, reported Times of India; an altercation which was witnessed by hundreds, including Bollywood’s A-list. The actor, who was hosting The Star Guild Awards, interrupted Mithoon’s acceptance speech to point to a piece of paper stuck to his backside.

This did not go down well with Mithoon who was onstage to accept an award for the song Tum hi ho meri aashiqui from Aashiqui 2. He shot back saying that this was bound to happen thanks to the dull evening and Salman’s long speeches. Salman flew into a rage and ordered Mithoon out, saying, “Chal jaa. Nikal yahan se (get off the stage).” Then Mithun fired the salvo, “Sir, main aap se nahin darta(Sir, I’m not scared of you).”
An eyewitness said, “Salman’s prank backfired totally. He looked very flustered. This was the last thing he expected. Nobody challenges Salman Khan like that in public. Seeing that the situation was snowballing into an ugly incident, Salman went up to Mithoon and hugged him lightly.”
Salman did not want to blow the incident out of proportion and therefore, he put aside his ego and pacified the situation.
Despite the spat, Mithoon looked calm and Salman too continued hosting the show as if nothing had happened. When contacted, Mithoon said, “I didn’t tell Salman that he was boring us with his speeches. I cannot say that to any senior actor like Salman.”
However, Mithoon did not deny that Salman did direct him to leave the stage or that he retorted by saying that he is not scared of the star. He said, “My award was announced very late and everyone was very tired by then. That was in good humour. And I didn’t feel offended.”
As the release date of Jai Ho draws closer, Salman Khan is registering his presence everywhere. Reality television shows are even changing the themes of their episodes to match his superstar persona. And special performances are designed for him. The actor doesn’t in the least hesitate to sing and dance to the songs of his upcoming film on these shows.
The superstar, who’s having a film release after over a year, is visiting various cities across India to promote his upcoming movie. He also visited his hometown Indore, where the nurse who had helped during his birth came to meet him. This incident also brought Salman in the limelight and now we are all anxiously waiting for his upcoming movie.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2014.