Salman Khan's Dad Salim Khan On His Interfaith Marriage: 'Father-in-law Said I Was Nice But Religion...'

Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan recently talked about his marriage to Salma Khan during an interview with his son Arbaaz Khan. He shared that before they officially started dating, he wanted to meet Salma’s parents, feeling it was wrong to hide their meetings. When he finally visited her house, he joked that it seemed like all the Maharashtrians from India were there, which made him quite nervous.

“Before our courtship, I told Salma I want to meet your parents as hiding and meeting is a wrong thing. So when I went to her house, I felt all the Maharashtrians from India were there (chuckles). I was very nervous about seeing so many people,” he recounted, as per ETimes.

Salim Khan explained that initially, Salma’s father was worried about their different religions. But Salim assured him that religion wouldn’t be a problem. They eventually got married, but Salma’s father didn’t visit them for ten years. Salim also talked about his marriage to Helen and how Salma was the first to accept her. He mentioned that balancing such relationships in real life is challenging. “My father-in-law told me that I was a nice guy but religion was the problem. I was 24 at that time. I then told him, ‘Doctor sahib, meri aur aapki beti ke 1760 problems ho sakte hai, but religion will never be one of them,” he shared.

Salim Khan married Sushila Charak, later known as Salma Khan, in 1964, and they welcomed three sons – Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, and Sohail Khan and two daughters, Alvira and Arpita. Yet, his love life had a twist when he fell for Helen, a celebrated actress and dancer, whom he married in 1981. Reflecting on this in conversation, Salim Khan shared that Salma Khan embraced Helen first, leading to a happy family life.

In an old interview with Zoom, Salim Khan had once recalled how he broke the news of his second marriage to Salma Khan and his kids. He had said, “My decision to marry Helen was not because I was disillusioned by my marriage or main pareshaan tha. It wasn’t a spontaneous decision that I want to get married to Helen. I took a long time. I was the first person to tell Salma that Helen is there in my life, before she could hear it from gossip magazines or anyone else.”

Salim Khan and his family maintain a close-knit relationship. Salma and Helen are both often seen spending time with all the kids. In fact, last year, Arbaaz Khan got married for the second time at Arpita Khan’s residence.