In a quest to save his life: When Salman Khan was tied to a rope and thrown into a well!

Salman Khan, the name is enough to turn any film into a roaring success. In fact, if we look at his box office records of the past few years, the actor has been a blockbuster machine. He has successfully completed more than two decades in the film industry and apart from this super success in his professional life, the actor is still known to have a heart of gold. However, the actor is also controversy’s favourite child.

Salman’s life is a colourful collage of incidents and memories, that gives one enough fodder to love and be in awe of, when you delve into it. And recently, while going through the same, we found something interesting.

Did you know that Salman was a swimming champion in school, and had also represented India at various International events? Also, had it not been for films, Salman would have been a professional swimmer. (Also Read: Kabir Khan on Salman Khan’s character in ‘Tubelight’: It is very different and challenging)

However, not many would be aware that Salman had learnt swimming in the first place to save his life. There’s a very fascinating tale behind the same. According to the actor’s biography ‘Being Salman’, it is stated that when he was a kid he used to spent his school holidays relaxing in Indore from where his father and veteran scriptwriter Salim Khan hailed. Salman’s close relatives have revealed (in the book) how he would dread swimming as a child. It was during their stay there that one day his Badi Ammi tied Salman to a rope and tossed him into the neighbourhood well. And this turned out to be his first lesson in swimming.

Even Salman, had recently chose to speak about how he learnt swimming during a promotional event of his film. He had said, “I learnt swimming in Indore in a well when I was nine years old. My cousins tied a rope around my waist and threw me into the well and said ‘now move your arms and legs and you will learn swimming’. There was a turtle in the well, a small fish and a big fish and a water snake. I got so scared that I learnt how to swim to save my life. After that I won many certificates.”

Going by the facts stated in his biography and his statement, it seems that his Badi Ammi was the real mastermind behind this plan with his cousins, who acted as the key players in making Salman the master swimmer that he is.

Salman is today known by his screen nickname ‘Dabangg’, which means fearless. And well, after hearing this story, we don’t hold a doubt on his being a fearless person.

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.