Salman Khan is my best friend, says Mahesh Manjrekar, who will host the Marathi Bigg Boss

Mahesh Manjrekar, who has acted with Salman Khan in several films including Wanted, Dabangg and Ready, is happy that the superstar has got bail. “I was praying for him and I’m glad he is out. In any case, it was a bailable offence,” says Mahesh. He adds that he doesn’t have many friends in Bollywood apart from Salman.

What about Sanjay Dutt with whom he has done films like Vaastav and Hathyar? “Sanjay is a co-actor, not a friend. We shared a professional relationship, but with Salman it’s not a professional relationship; we are friends first. He is my best friend. After I signed the contract to host Marathi Bigg Boss, I called him and told him about it. He was happy and said ‘Just go all out’. He was confident about me hosting the show,” answers Mahesh. 

The filmmaker looks at his stint as a workshop! He states, “It will be challenging because the show isn’t scripted. I’ve to react spontaneously to whatever is happening in the house — support the contestants,  share their emotions and correct them when they are wrong. They will also get to see my temper.” 

“It will be like a catharsis. It will help me as a person and as an actor. After all, we learn a lot from others’ experience,” he elaborates. What kind of a host will he be? “I have seen Salman (Khan) and he has his original patent style. But I have my own — my humour is deadpan. My approach will also be different, I can’t get predictable,” he says. 

What about the controversial aspect of the show? “That will depend on the contestants and what they are doing. In any case, I don’t think it will be as loud as it is in Hindi. Also, who doesn’t like controversies? 

For the last couple of days, people were glued to TV to see what is happening with Salman’s bail? It’s human tendency,” Mahesh shrugs. 

Ask him about his Bollywood comeback film with Vidyut Jammwal and Shruti Haasan and the director clams up. “I will talk about it when the time is right,” he says tersely. What happened to the Hindi remake of his Marathi film De Dhakka with Sanjay? He says, “That’s why I don’t want to talk about the film before it happens. Sanjay got busy with Bhoomi and other things... even I got busy with my acting and other projects,” he signs off.