90'sGossip AB Sr's secret passion for Amrita Pg 99 - Page 5

   The much-chronicled relationship, born on the sets of the blockbuster hit Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, has served as a focus for the agitations of conservative Hindu politicians (Salman Khan is Muslim; Aishwarya is Hindu). But the majority of the scandal has arisen from Khan's questionable treatment of her. Her black eye at a televised awards ceremony (attained, she claimed, through a fall) provoked whispers of domestic violence.

   At the time, Ash firmly dismissed the idea. "For some perverse reason, no one wants me to believe that I fell down the stairs. First the media calls me the woman of the millennium, a woman of substance. Then how can the same media make me out to be such a doormat? I'm a self-respecting woman, I don't take nonsense from anyone. No one tries caveman tactics on me. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger can fall and get hurt, so why should I be any different? If I had been accosted or physically beaten, I'd have reacted violently. If there has been no reaction from my side, it means there's no truth in those stories about me. My silence fanned the rumours. I don't react to mudslinging." (Filmfare, May 2002)

   But the whispers grew louder in 2000, when Aish's neighbors reported a late night visit from Salman in which the actor beat on her door for several hours, demanding to be let inside in an aggressive and seemingly intoxicated tone. Aishwarya's own parents then added to the brouhaha by publicly expressing their disapproval of Khan. Recently they filed a complaint with the Mumbai police, alleging that an intoxicated Khan broke windowpanes and furniture in Aishwarya's home, and also made threats against the Rai household. In the complaint, the Rais stated that they "should not be held responsible for any untoward incident involving the actor." (B4U TV, Jan 2002)

   The scandal peaked in early 2002, when an agitated Khan stormed onto the sets of Aishwarya' upcoming film with Abhishek Bachchan (Ramesh Sippy's Kuch Na Kaho). He pushed the actress to the ground, prompting intervention from spectators, who demanded he leave. Before departing, Khan backed his car into another automobile -- Aishwarya's, by some reports -- leaving the witnesses shocked and, in the case of our fair heroine, bruised to boot. (B4U TV, Jan 2002)

   Finally, after years of denials, Aishwarya admitted to the Times of India in September 2002 that her relationship with Khan had been a troubled one -- even after their official split. "Salman and I broke up last March, but he isn't able to come to terms with it," she told reporter Afsana Ahmed. According to the actress, the couple split after he inadvertantly admitted that he had been unfaithful to her. "After we broke up, he would call me and talk rubbish. He also suspected me of having affairs with my co-stars. I was linked up with everyone, from Abhishekh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan. There were times when Salman got physical with me, luckily without leaving any marks. And I would go to work as if nothing had happened."  She also claimed that Khan would physically abuse himself in order to gain her attention. (The Times of India, September 27, 2002)