Salman Khan sang it in Devdas in place of Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai’s passionate sequence.
There is a lot of drama in Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s relationship, and their split left their supporters in tears. They were a match made in heaven, if not quite, on the Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam set of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. They were deeply in love. However, as the relationship’s alleged abuse came to light, the actress herself admitted as much in some of her interviews at the time.
However, Sanjay Leela Bhansali made an effort to harness their dazzling chemistry in his films Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat when they were still dating. Although they split up before the movies could be made, Salman was anxious to star in Devdas, but Bhansali went with Shah Rukh Khan instead of the Tiger actor. When Salman and Aishwarya were still very much together, it appeared to onlookers that Salman was a member of the Devdas crew. He was never far away.
But did you know that while Salman Khan was filming Devdas, he and Aishwarya were on the verge of splitting up because their romance was deteriorating far too quickly? Aish wanted to be free, and Salman was doing his best to keep it. The Bajrangi Bhaijaan star even offered to play a romance sequence between Shah Rukh and Aish. It was clear that he was in anguish. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, however, shot it, continued to roll the camera, and rumours suggest that he kept it in the movie.
Even the journalist Anupama Chopra, in her biography of Shah Rukh Khan, admits that Salman’s hand was seen by the audience, not Shah Rukh’s. She described the incident in her book, saying, “Salman Khan would spend evenings laying drunk on the floor of Aishwarya’s trailer. When performing a love scene one evening, Shah Rukh Khan had to remove a thorn off Aishwarya Rai’s foot. Salman offered to show how to do it while he was present on the shoot. SRK concurred, and Sanjay rolled the cameras as Salman took the shot. An exhausted, heartbroken lover acting out his own life for the movie was a moving sight. Crying Aishwarya. It was the last time a photograph of the two was taken.
This is the wonderfully filmed sequence from the well-known Devdas song Morey Piya. On a Reddit post, excerpts from the book were shared. Internet users thought this was horrifying and glorifying. “Anupama has written it as if it is something romantic, that’s creepy,” a commenter commented. Yet another response stated, “Exactly. If her daughter had a stalker or an abusive ex, she would spiral out of control. Why would people celebrate an abuser like this? was the third response. Salman is a spoiled, overgrown manchild who already has all he could ever want. The ladies who decided to be with him are not to blame for his alcoholism.
Even more, online users debated the veracity of these claims and uploaded screenshots from the song in which they said Salman Khan’s hand did not appear to be present. The entire thread may be read here.