Arbaaz Khan: Ask anyone who is more successful, 100 out of 100 will say Salman, mujhe kya sharam bolne mein?

What made headline though was Arbaaz openly asking his father if it bothered him how he and Sohail aren’t as successful as their brother Salman. We ask him about the reason he is so candid about it. Arbaaz says, “Kya hota hai na, aap bhale hi apne baare mein jo socho, duniya toh kuch na kuch bolti hi hai. You confront it. It’s a reality that professionally, many people will be more successful than you, but they are that professionally. Your success in some area could be more than theirs. Only your career isn’t important in life, it doesn’t define you. If someone is ahead of you, there is no shame in acknowledging it.”

The 55-year-old, who has a film on floors as a producer with actor Raveena Tandon in the cast, adds that he is also aware what people think. “Today, you can ask anyone who is more successful between Salman and Arbaaz, 100 out of 100 will say it’s Salman. Toh mujhe kya sharam bolne mein? There are things in my life which don’t exist in his! Tomorrow the situation could be different, maybe I am so successful that it probably supercedes his. You have to be honest where you stand and not be deluded. People respect if you confront it. They aren’t fools. This is what people like,” says Khan.

This level of self awareness is rare in an industry where people mostly remain diplomatic or don’t talk openly about it. Khan in fact feels that there are no such thoughts arising in his mind, because they are his family. “When you get compared to your father and brother, people think they are more successful, one way you are not feeling bad because chalo theek hai, mera bhai hi hai ultimately. But when you are constantly compared with someone outside your family… people will continue doing that. Even a new cricketer will be compared to Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli. Yeh duniya ka dastur hai,” adds the actor.