Salman Khan’s Tere Naam co-star Bhumika Chawla says he has changed a lot: ‘Was never influenced by him’

Actor Bhumika Chawla has said that she doesn’t think she ‘could get influenced by’ her Tere Naam co-star, actor Salman Khan. In a new interview, Bhumika said that she shares a ‘very cordial and nice’ relationship with Salman. However, she added that she was never close to him. She also spoke about ‘so much difference’ in Salman as he has changed a lot. (Also Read | Satish Kaushik talks about toxic lovers of Tere Naam and Kabir Singh: ‘That’s the culture in small cities’)

Bhumika made her debut in Bollywood with Tere Naam, directed by Satish Kaushik, in 2003. Written by Bala and Jainendra Jain, the film is a remake of Bala’s own Tamil film Sethu (1999). The film was nominated for 24 Awards and won seven.

In an interview with Times Of India, Bhumika said about Salman, “I don’t see it that way. Influence is a very strong word. You get influenced in a performance, or even as a human or as a person. I don’t think I had that much interaction with him on a personal front. We were very cordial and nice, but I was never really close to him. And so I don’t think I could get influenced by him in any such manner. He has changed a lot, I see so much difference. But it happens with all of us, isn’t it? You know, when you’re in your 20s, you’re different from when you’re in your 30s. And then you change again in your 40s and 50s. So I think he’s probably – from what I hear, because like I said, I don’t have much of personal interaction with Salman – seen a kind of good growth in him as a person and even as an artist.”

Speaking of Tere Naam and her choice of projects, she said, “I have to make sure that my next film should be like Tere Naam or MS Dhoni. Otherwise, I will not be able to perform. I will enjoy my past, I will enjoy the journey that I’ve had. But when I’m working, I will only concentrate on that day, on that shot between the camera and I, that’s all. I will not let my past and/or future create pressure. And so for me, my success is just the camera and me in that very moment.”

Bhumika has featured in several films such as Run (2003), Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa and Silsiilay (2004), Dil Jo Bhi Kahey (2005), Family (2006), and Gandhi, My Father (2007). She made her comeback in Hindi films with MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Khamoshi, and Bhram (2019). She will next be seen in Operation Romeo. Directed by Shashant Shah, the film is the remake of the 2019 Malayalam movie Ishq.

Operation Romeo, which will release in theatres on April 22, also stars Sharad Kelkar, Kishore Kadam, Sidhant Gupta, and Vedika Pinto. It is produced by Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia’s Friday Filmworks and Reliance Entertainment.