75-yr-old prays for Salman’s return to Valley
IF HE IS JAILED, EVERYTHING WILL BE OVER FOR US. I WILL BE BACK ASKING ALMS FROM PEOPLE FOR SURVIVAL
ZAINA BEGUM, a widow
SRINAGAR: Thousands of Kilometres away from Mumbai, in a quiet corner of her mud and brick house, 75-year-old widow Zaina Begum is praying for a favourable court order for Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s bail application on Friday.
The woman had been praying all night in the famous shrine of Ashmuqam for the star who had promised her a better life only a few days ago. The old lady is inconsolable and so are five members in the family.
“If he is jailed, everything will be over for us. I will be back asking alms from people for survival,’’ she told Hindustan Times. “If a good human being like him is convicted what will happen to the world. I am sure there is some mistake,’’ she added. With Salman Khan convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years imprisonment in the 2002 hit-and-run case, Zaina’s dream of a respectable living has been shattered. Salman had promised the family `5 lakh for building their house and job for the only male member of the family.
Even the construction material for the house had started coming. “We got a truckload of bricks, another of cement and one more of stones. The construction had started but had to stop now,’’ said Zaina’s 18-year-old grandson Gowhar Bhat. Bhat was working in Salman’s team for the shooting of his film “Bajrangi Bhaijaan.” The teenager was to travel to Mumbai after the shoot was over.
According to a crew member, Salman had adopted the family after Zaina, who cannot even speak Hindi properly approached the star for help during the shooting. “She had come with some letter requesting help during the shooting, saying she was a widow, living with her 40-year-old widowed daughter and her four children,’’ said the crew member.
Salman was on a 40-day shooting schedule in the Valley and had left the Valley on Tuesday to fly down to Mumbai for the verdict. It was a week earlier that Zaina Begum had approached the star with her ‘application.’ “He met me and somehow I knew he will help. He treated me like his own,’’ she said.
“He asked people to confirm the woman’s whereabouts before offering help. When it was confirmed that the woman was needy he not only helped her monetarily but also gave a job to her eldest grandson,’’ said Khawar Jamsheed from Line producers, who are facilitating the shoot in the Valley.
Gowhar met Khan at the shoot and start ed working. “I even worked for three days. The crew members wanted to give me money for my work. But I will accept my first salary from Salman Sir only,’’ the teenager has vowed to himself.