Sooraj Pancholi was exonerated on Friday in the suicide case of Jiah Khan, his then-girlfriend. On suspicion of aiding suicide, the actor was detained in June 2013. The case against Sooraj was dismissed on April 28 by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge named AS Sayyed due to a “paucity of evidence.” Sooraj’s mother, actor Zarina Wahab, joined him to the court appearance. Salman Khan was the very first person, he messaged after leaving the court, he revealed. Salman had been there for him during the previous ten years, the actor had revealed.
Hero (2015), a film by Nikkhil Advani, marked the screen debuts of Sooraj and Athiya Shetty. Salman and director Subhash Ghai collaborated on the production of the movie. Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri starred in a remake of Subhash’s musical smash movie Hero from 1983. The movie also featured Sooraj’s father, actor Aditya Pancholi.
In conversation with Bombay Times, Sooraj stated, “Salman Khan is not a friend of my father or mother. Of course, they know each other as they all work in the same industry. I was an AD on Ek Tha Tiger and he had told me that he will produce my first film. I was accused in 2013 two years before that film (Hero) came out, and he still produced that film and stood by me.”
The actor further added, “He has done more than anyone else for me, but I know my limits and I won’t exploit that bond. I have met him a hundred times, but never for work. He was the first person I messaged as soon as I left the court. He had told me, ‘Sooraj, if you know in your heart that you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.”
