‘After two drinks, Salman Khan is a different person': Mika has cracked the code to keeping Bhai happy, says he shouldn't be approached between 2 pm and 6 pm

Indian Express

02-05-2025

Singer Mika Singh recalled several stories about Salman Khan, and said that he is one of the few people who know when to approach the superstar. He said that one should stay away from Salman during certain hours of the day, because he is guaranteed to ignore you. It is only in the evening that Salman opens up, and that, too, if music is involved. In an interview with Shubhankar Mishra, Mika recalled a hilarious anecdote about Salman rebuffing Meet Bros at the premiere of Race 3, even though they'd chilled together only a few hours prior. Mika then let them in on his secret.
' Salman Bhai raat ko kuch aur hote hain aur din ko kuch aur hote hain (Salman Bhai is a different person at night, and a different person during the day),' he said, adding, ' Salman Khan is very open with me. After two drinks, he treats me like an equal. But this shouldn't make you delusional, regardless if you're two pegs down or four pegs down. He's Salman Khan. The problem is when people become arrogant early in their lives.'
Mika said that he was guilty of making the same mistake in his first meeting with Salman. 'I was a fool. I should've touched his feet and asked if I could sing a song for him. He was there on set for the shoot of 'Jaanam Samjha Karo', and he even had tea with us. But I didn't have the street smarts to get his contact details. He asked me to sing, and I sang with full moves. He must've been thinking what a cartoon they've presented before me.'
Recalling the story about how Salman ignored Meet Bros at a movie premiere, he said, 'I've never told this story, but Meet Bros once had biryani with him, and thought that they'd become best friends. They don't know what I know. I know that Salman Bhai is cranky during the day, and that you should only approach him after 6 pm, preferably with a song. Between 2 pm and 6 pm, stay away from Salman Bhat. And so, Meet Bros had biryani with him at night, and the next day they went to the premiere of Race 3. They stood there eagerly, waiting for Salman Bhai. He came and walked past them. They were stunned that he didn't even say hello. They'd just had biryani the night before! I told them that this isn't the time to approach him. You need to wait for the evening. It's not that he needs to have a few drinks to chill, but he just takes his time to get into the zone. During the day, he's lost in his thoughts.'
Mika said that Salman tends to call his friends up at odd hours of the night, and gets upset with them if they don't answer. Mika was caught in a similar situation when he was in Bali. He said, 'Salman Bhai loves to sing. He also loves calling people up in the middle of the night, sometimes at 4 am. And he gets upset if you don't answer. I was in Bali, and I get a call from him at night. He tells me that he wants to sing the song 'Hangover', and he sang on the phone. I thought he sang very well. Then he sang 'Jumme Ki Raat', and I didn't have the heart to tell him… That was supposed to be my song, but obviously nobody was going to tell him that he couldn't sing it. So, I texted Bhushan Kumar and Sajid Nadiadwala, and I told them I knew what was happening…'