Paisa do, Salman ka photo lo!

After Hours photographer Devendra Parab recounts how a ‘high spirited’ Salman Khan insisted he do some charity in exchange for clicking pictures 

Those close to him never tire of explaining what a golden heart Salman Khan has, despite his much talked about eccentricities. And the beefcake actor showed both those traits at a recent party in the suburbs. The occassion was the birthday party of Amrita Arora, the sister of Salman’s bhabhi Malaika.

When Salman noticed that I was clicking his picture, he immediately rushed up to me and demanded that the snaps be deleted from the camera. In fact, he was so particular that he even stood beside me while I pressed the deleted button, just to be doubly sure.

He seemed satisfied but then suddenly asked me to hand him a Rs 100 note. Baffled, I said I didn’t have it. Then he asked me to hand out any note and I took out Rs 20. Pointing to a handicapped destitute on a wheelchair nearby, he  directed that the money be handed over to him - though the man himself hadn’t asked for any money.

With the transction done according to his biddng, he smiled widely and his sullen mood just vanished in an instant. Not only did he offer to pose for me, he went the other way and called out to Shah Rukh Khan to join him for a photo-op!

Then, he was so glad with his little arrangement that he told the other photographers at the venue to donate money to the handicapped man if they wanted his picture.

“That’s the price for clicking my pictures,” he declared, adding a small warning: “You better make sure my pictures look better than Shah Rukh’s!”

p_devendra@dnaindia.net