Sana Khaan Explains 'The Salman Khan Hug' And Why She Is Furious

Actor Sana Khan was up for a not-so-pleasant surprise on Tuesday, when a video of her hugging actor Salman Khan went viral for all the wrong reasons. Sana walked the red carpet at a recently held TV awards show in Mumbai, and when she spotted Salman, the two exchanged a hug. What made it news was Salman’s closed fists, and his shy smile.

“I still can’t believe that a normal hug was trending, trolling, and rolling,” says Sana. “People just blew it out of proportion because [Salman] had a closed fist, and some dumb people even called it an awkward hug.” The actor adds that it’s only normal for people to wear backless clothes at a red carpet event.

Did she feel that Salman was uncomfortable even for a moment? Sana replies, “Who the hell am I to make him feel uncomfortable? It’s stupid to put somebody down by saying such a nasty thing and showing me in a wrong light. It’s not [as if] I went to hug him and he didn’t recognise me.”

But why that closed fist? “Couldn’t it be somebody’s style? Maybe he hugs like that. I don’t know. I think the best person [whom] to ask this would be Salman. [Also] He has been in the [film] industry for over 25 years, so don’t think backless even matters to him… he has seen more than that (laughs). Let’s not talk like a five-year-old and make all this sound so big,” says Sana.

I’m not a psychopath to hug somebody if the person doesn’t want to talk to me. I’m not someone who makes people stand and keep talking and falling on their lap.

Sana has known Salman ever since she first appeared in 2012 on the reality show Bigg Boss (which was hosted by Salman) and later worked with the actor in the 2014 film Jai Ho. Lashing out at those who are calling it a forced hug, Sana retorts, “I’m not a psychopath to hug somebody if the person doesn’t want to talk to me. I’m not someone who makes people stand and keep talking and falling on their lap. I am on good terms with Salman; we share a rapport, I talk to him on and off, we’ve met so many times, I’ve been to his house, and we have worked together on the sets also. So there’s nothing to feel awkward [about].”

The actor shares that she had a brief two-minute chat with Salman, and that may have got everyone curious. “For a moment, Salman didn’t recognise me — he literally told me that. [Then] he complimented me that I look very nice. And I said, ‘Yes, I’ve dropped 7kg’, and he is like, ‘It’s showing,’” reveals Sana.

Was it the backless outfit that made the hug look “awkward”? Sana says, “Well, could be. Maybe he didn’t want my back bronzer to fall on his clothes. He has worked with all sexy and good-looking actresses, who would use bronzer from head to toe, so he knows that. And it’s not that he wants to feel me up or I want to feel him up. I am sorry, we have all grown up from that zone. We need to respect each other’s space and gestures.”