Viveck Vaswani has opened up about why he never collaborated again with Salman Khan after Patthar Ke Phool, even as he acknowledged the superstar’s professionalism in certain setups.In a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Vaswani spoke about discipline, creative processes, and his experience working with Salman.When asked if he was never tempted to work with Salman again, Vaswani was clear. “I wasn’t,” he said. “I cannot work where there is liquor. I cannot work jaha log daru pite hai, indiscipline ke sath kaam karte hai,” he added.However, he clarified that he is not against collaborating with the actor entirely. “If I get the Salman who works with Sooraj Barjatya, then I would do it,” he said.“Because with them, Salman is completely disciplined, a top professional—he gives them his best. If I work with Salman, I would like to give him the best.”
‘They want Salman the actor, not the star’
Vaswani pointed out that Salman’s working style depends on the filmmaker. “With some filmmakers, he is in control—like Aditya Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sooraj Barjatya,” he said.“These are producers who don’t make films just on Salman’s name. They get the same respect because they are very big banners. They don’t allow interference. They need Salman the actor, not Salman the star.”Drawing a line between creative input and professionalism, Vaswani said, “No, no… I don’t want indiscipline.”“If you want to change something, sit with the director, change your dialogues, change your costume—that’s fine. Interference is okay. But indiscipline is not acceptable.”
‘Salim saab was there… you have to respect the writer’
Recalling Patthar Ke Phool, he said, “His father, Salim Khan, was there. He had written the script. Salim saab was very kind to me.”He added that while Salman did suggest changes, the writer’s authority was final. “He would say, ‘Can we do it this way?’ and those were not bad suggestions. But when Salim-Javed were writing, I had heard they would not allow even one word to be changed.”“You have to respect the stature of a giant. That’s why those films succeeded.”Despite everything, Vaswani maintained that Salman was collaborative during discussions. “When you sat with him on a scene, he would think. He was not rigid,” he said.“But if someone said, ‘Change this,’ he would say, ‘Go to the writer—I haven’t written it.’ So there was a hierarchy we all respected.”
‘We were more human then’
Reflecting on how the industry has changed, Vaswani said, “Those were very different times. We would meet, sit, discuss things. There were no laptops, no emails.”“We were more human—we would argue, sit together and resolve things. Today, people send 200 emails,” he added.He also shared that he continues to stay in touch with the Khan family. “I meet them sometimes—at parties, film premieres. They are very fond of me,” he said, recalling his fondness for Helen and the early days with Sohail, Arbaaz and Arpita.
