When Salim Khan spoke about his interfaith marriage with first wife Sushila Charak: ‘Religion acceptable nai hai’ |

Salim Khan and Salma Khan celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary on November 18 and to celebrate the occasion, their friends and family got together on Monday night. A party was held at Sohail Khan’s house in Bandra and one saw Salim Khan, Salma Khan arriving there. Salman Khan was also spotted as he arrived to celebrate his parents’ anniversary. One also saw Alvira and Atul Agnihotri at the family get together. Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal were also seen. As they celebrate their anniversary, here’s recalling the time when Salim Khan had opened up on their interfaith marriage. Salma’s name was Sushila Charak and she was a Hindu. Speaking to his son Arbaaz Khan on his new Bollywood Bubble show, Salim Khan reminisced about his younger days, when he was widely known in his neighbourhood for his strength, particularly for being able to lift a jeep and for excelling in arm wrestling. Reflecting on how that reputation helped him forge a special bond, he shared, “Vahan se mohalle popularity badhti chali gayi aur inse dosti bhi ho gayi,” he said.As their bond deepened, Salim said they began meeting secretly until he felt it was time to approach her family. “Chhup ke milte the idhar udhar kahin. Maine kaha ki nahi, I would like to meet your parents. Jab main gaya, sab mere ko dekhne ke liye aa gaye the jaise zoo mein koi janwar aaya hai naya ki dekhne chalte hain (We used to secretly meet and then I told her that I want to meet her parents. When I went to meet her parents, everyone gathered to see me as if people go to zoo to see animals),” he recalled, admitting he was quite anxious during that first meeting.However, as he expected, religion soon became the central concern. Salim narrated how her father addressed the issue directly, “Mere father-in-law ne kaha ‘beta, humne tumhare baare mein maloomat ki hai. Ache khandan ke ladke ho, padhe likhe ho, sab kuch ho, humein koi aitraaz nahi, aajkal ache ladke milte nahi. Magar religion acceptable nahi hai.’ Salim responded firmly, “Maine kaha, mere aur aapki beti ke 1760, aisa mooh se nikla, 1760 problems ho sakte hain magar religion will never be one of them. (My father-in-law told me that he has found out about me that I belong to a good family, I’m educated. Everything is fine, but religion is unacceptable. I responded to him saying that there can be 1760 problems between your daughter and me after we get married but religion will never be a problem).”Salim also spoke about marrying Helen in 1981, saying he was completely transparent with Salma. He said, “I told her, yeh relationship hai mera. Unhone yeh toh nahi kaha ki bahut acha kia, iske liye aapko award milna chahiye. This is an emotional accident, yeh kisi ke sath bhi ho sakta hai.”Despite the family having members raised in different faiths, Arbaaz noted during the conversation that “religion is the last reason for any kind of discord” within their household. Salim agreed, adding that people still express surprise seeing his name in the credits of Mahabharat.Explaining his spiritual and literary approach, he shared, “Ramayan ko aur Mahabharat ko ek ilm ki kitaab samajh ke padha hai aur mere kaam mein, meri writing ke andar itna kaam aya hai ki voh pucho mat. Agar main phas jata hun kahin, toh dekhta hun ki Mahabharat mein kya hua tha. Mahabharat is the greatest screenplay and Ramayan is one of the greatest stories.”