Amrita: Constant vigil

Mumbai, April 12: The Khans believe in sticking together in moments of crisis. It’s another matter that the crises are mostly generated by eldest son Salman’s brushes with the law.

“That’s not the way they see it. Sallu is a large-hearted fellow and his family dotes on him. They think he is targeted because of his celeb status and the threat he poses to some stars in the industry,” said a close family friend and neighbour of Salman’s father Salim Khan today.

This time around, the family is missing Arbaaz, who is holidaying with wife Malaika and son Arhaan in Australia.

Salim, who is a noted scriptwriter, has said he would ask Arbaaz to return only if Salman’s bail plea is rejected tomorrow.

Though Malaika’s absence is being felt strongly, her sister Amrita Arora and her mother have stepped in to be by the Khan family’s side.

It is an all-woman show in Mumbai with Salman’s brother Sohail and sister Alvira currently in Jodhpur to visit the actor.

There are Helen, Salman’s stepmother and the dance diva of the 50s and 60s, Sohail’s wife Seema Khan and Salman’s sister Arpita.

The women are running back and forth from Lilavati Hospital and the Khan home in Bandra. Salman’s mother Salma suffered an anxiety attack on hearing about her son’s sentence and was admitted to hospital.

“Ammu (Amrita Arora), Seema and Arpita have been holding fort in the hospital ever since Salma aunty went there. Salma aunty has suffered an anxiety attack. The moment Ammu heard the news, she rushed to the hospital and stayed there till midnight. The next morning she was back. Ammu only left for a few hours in the afternoon to attend a show in Chembur, which was a prior commitment,” said a close family friend.

None of the women are speaking to journalists though. Sohail has apparently asked them not to make any statements. The family has decided that only Salim will speak to the media.

The family is, however, extremely disappointed with Bollywood’s lack of support.

Sohail and Alvira are reportedly very bitter about the situation. The actor-director is reportedly telling his friends that “when Aman Verma went through troubled times (after the India TV expose), all of us, including Salman, Arbaaz and I stood behind him. We have always stood behind people in their times of need. The entire industry was behind Aman at that time. Now, where’s Bollywood when we are going through such stress?”

In the first show of support to Salman, the producers of the Katrina Kaif starrer Humko Deewana Kar Gaye cancelled the film’s premiere scheduled for Thursday at Cinemax Versova.

“Bhushanji (Bhushan Kumar, the head honcho of T-Series) and Salman share a terrific rapport. Being close friends, it would be unfair to celebrate an occasion at this juncture,” said a source at T-Series, confirming the development.

Besides, T-Series holds the music rights of several Salman starrers. “That’s true, but that’s not the reason why we cancelled the premiere. As an industry person, you need to stand by your brethren in their hour of need,” the source said.