Mumbai: Puneet Issar, who directed Salman Khan in ‘Garv: Pride & Honour’, revealed that the superstar was going through a tough phase while shooting for the film.
Speaking about that period, when Salman was embroiled in the 2002 hit-and-run case, Puneet said that the latter was troubled and disturbed because of public scrutiny in the case.
Actor-director Puneet revealed that Salman’s family stood by him like rock during the tough period and the actor’s father advised him to keep himself occupied with work to avoid negativity.
During a chat with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Puneet said, “Obviously, the man (Salman) was disturbed. Ultimately, his family members decided that he should start work and concentrate on it. Salim sahab maintained that during that phase of Salman’s life, he should just work. Salim sahab told me to tell Salman to stay busy at work, and this was a collective decision taken by his family. It was the right decision and that’s what he did.”
Recalling how Salman showed dedication towards his work despite intense public scrutiny, Puneet added, “His morale was very good on set. He is a professional. He has a comfort zone, he works in that, he would come work out and shoot.”
In 2002, Salman was accused of driving an SUV over pavement dwellers in Bandra under the influence of alcohol, resulting in the death of one person.
The actor was charged with culpable homicide.
In 2015, the Bombay High Court acquitted Salman as the “prosecution failed to prove the charges against Khan on all counts”.
The court observed there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that Salman was inebriated and driving the SUV.
