Exclusive – Naagin 7 actor Akashdeep Saigal on accusing Salman Khan in the past of ruining his career; says ‘People say you shouldn’t mess with Salman…’
Akashdeep Saigal, aka Skywalker, who was missing from the small screen for the last nine years, recently made a comeback with Naagin 7. He became a household name after Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. However, following his controversial fallout with Bigg Boss host Salman Khan, it was alleged that Akashdeep had accused the Bollywood star of ruining his career.In an exclusive conversation with Times of India TV, Akashdeep addressed the controversy involving Salman Khan and dismissed speculations of any animosity between them.Speaking about reports of his rivalry with Salman Khan, Akashdeep said, “I’m glad you brought this up because it’s been circulating in the media for a long time now. I’ll explain it simply, sometimes a story starts at one point and, as it keeps moving, it picks up layers and turns into something completely different, almost like a rumour. As I’ve said before, stepping away from television was a conscious decision. Ekta had already confirmed that. I’ve done many shows, whether it’s Bigg Boss, I’m a Celebrity…, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Total Wipeout, and I’ve never let outside noise affect me. I do care about people and what they think, that’s natural. But I’m not bothered by it. The day you let the world disturb your peace of mind, you only end up miserable and I don’t want that. Because somebody said something, I never clarified and it went somewhere else.”The Bigg Boss season 5 contestant dismissed all the reports of having any animosity towards Salman, “I was upset with my father and with my mother too. That doesn’t mean I hate anyone or that someone made my life miserable. No one can make your life miserable, you do that to yourself. I understood this a long time ago. As far as Salman is concerned, absolutely not. He is Salman Khan and I am Akashdeep Saigal, now Akash Skywalker. He has his own space, I have mine. People love him, people love me. I have no animosity towards him or anyone in the industry, especially not him,” he revealed.Akashdeep further mentioned that he never held a press conference to clarify his stand on the fallout reports. He also stated in the interview that he was not saying these things to get into Salman Khan’s good books. “This has nothing to do with fear or to be in his good books. People say things like you shouldn’t mess with Salman Khan because he’s powerful, but why should there be any ‘panga’ at all? Differences can happen in human interactions, but that doesn’t mean they should turn into a big PR story. I’ve never held a press conference to clarify my stand because there was never anything to clarify. If people enjoy talking and rumours give them entertainment, why should I take that away from them? Everyone gets publicity, good luck to them. But I’m happy, at peace, and I see myself as a child of the universe. None of this bothers me,” he concluded.For the uninitiated, Akashdeep courted controversy after he got into a heated exchange with Sanjay Dutt, which left co-host Salman Khan miffed. During one of the WKV episodes, Salman entered the Bigg Boss 5 house and slammed him for his behaviour. He had a controversial fallout with Salman Khan and later Akashdeep alleged that Salman ruined his career.
