Overview

• In a new Free Press Journal interview amplified by major outlets, the veteran screenwriter says his family has never consumed beef.
• He cites Prophet Mohammed’s teachings that cows should not be killed and that beef is forbidden, calling cow’s milk beneficial.
• He portrays a secular home that has long celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Dussehra, Diwali, Eid and Christmas.
• He recalls marrying Salma Khan with both saat phere and a nikaah after her father’s initial concern over religion was allayed.
• He credits a harmonious upbringing in Hindu-majority Indore, notes that his wife performs puja while he sometimes offers namaaz, and says he has read the Quran in English.