Sanjay Leela Bhansali Calls Salman Khan His Only Friend In The Industry: Even If ‘Inshallah’ Didn't Happen, He Stands By Me

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who last helmed his OTT debut series ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’, has been getting all the love and attention for the project, which was released on Netflix on May 1. The film starred an ensemble cast including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, among others. 

In fact, over the years, SLB has worked with several A-list stars like Shah Rukh Khan Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Ranveer Singh and more. However, do you know that he only considers Salman Khan as his ‘friend’ in the industry? In a recent chat with Bollywood Hungama, Bhansali talked about the friendship he shares with Salman. The two worked together in the filmmaker’s debut film ‘Khamoshi’, apart from ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, and ‘Saawariya’. They were expected to collaborate with ‘Inshallah’, which was supposed to star Salman and Alia Bhatt, but the project got shelved due to creative differences. 

Talking about Salman, Sanjay said, "The only person that I'm still friendly with is Salman Khan. Even if Inshallah didn't happen, he stands by me. He'll call me; he'll care for me. ‘Are you okay? Is there anything (you need)? You've goofed up, you messed up’. I enjoy his humour so much. It (phone call) comes once in three months, once in five months, but it comes because he doesn't care about my film. He cares about me. ‘You, bro, you've done so many films with me, it doesn't matter. Are you okay?’ And that is what it is all about."

He further continued, “On work, we may have sparred, we may have not had our moment correct, and it didn’t fall into place. But after one month, he called me, and I called him, and we talked. So that is a friend. In that sense, I'm fortunate enough to have that friend who once in six months will speak and will exactly start from where we left.”

Now post the success of ‘Heeramandi’, Bhansali is geared up for the shooting of his next film ‘Love & War’, which stars Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Vicky Kaushal in the lead. It is slated to release in December 2025.