Film director and cinematographer Lawrence D’Souza recently shared a story about signing Salman Khan for Rs 5000 after watching Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989. Speaking with Friday Talkies, D’Souza recalled how he and producer S Ramanathan decided to sign Salman after attending a special screening of the film. Initially, D’Souza wasn’t impressed with Salman’s performance, but as the film progressed, he started liking the actor. After the screening, S Ramanathan, who was working with D’Souza on a film called Pratiksha, decided to sign Salman and paid him Rs 5000 as a signing amount. However, the project never materialized.
Ramanathan, known for films like Bombay to Goa (1972) and Mahaan (1983), later paid Salman Rs 5,00,000 for another project that also didn’t happen. D’Souza mentioned that after Salman delivered more hits, they approached him again, but Salman humorously remarked, “What kind of a person is he? He pays me money and then he does nothing!”
D’Souza also talked about his successful film Saajan (1991), starring Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Sanjay Dutt. He revealed that while he earned Rs 8 lakh for directing the film, Salman and Madhuri were paid Rs 11 lakh each, and Sanjay received Rs 12 lakh. Reflecting on the financial challenges of filmmaking in the 1980s and 1990s, D’Souza explained that he often made films to help struggling producer friends and worked with new actors. Salman once advised him, “You don’t do all this now. You have made Saajan, now you have to do even better than that.” However, D’Souza admitted that his emotional nature and desire to help others meant he didn’t earn as much in the industry.