The upcoming Bigg Boss 18 Weekend Ka Vaar episode promises to be packed with drama. In tonight’s episode, host Salman Khan is set to confront Ashneer Grover, the co-founder and managing director of the Indian fintech company BharatPe. For context, Salman has been the brand ambassador for Ashneer’s brand. During a public appearance, Ashneer mentioned the price he paid Salman, which the actor claims is an incorrect figure. In the preview released by the makers, Salman is seen welcoming Ashneer on the show. As Ashneer makes his entry, Salman asks, “Maine aapko mere baare me kehta huye suna hai kuch. Aapne kaha ki humne to isko itne me sign karliya, utne me sign kar liya. Sab figures bhi apne galat de diya. Toh phir doglapan kya? [I have heard you speaking about me. You said, ‘We signed him for this much, signed him for that much,’ and all your figures were wrong. So then, what is with the double standards?]”
To this, Ashneer Grover replies, “Aapko jab humne brand ambassador liya, I think that was one of the smartest moves I made. [When we took you as a brand ambassador, I think that was one of the smartest moves I made.]” Salman Khan fires back, “Lekin jis hisaab se ab aap baat kar rahe hai, vo jo maine aapka video dekha hai. Yeh aapka attitude vaha par nahi tha. [But the way you are talking now, and the video I saw of you, this wasn’t your attitude back then.]”
Ashneer Grover clarifies, “Maybe in the podcast, it did not come across correct.” Taking a jibe at Ashneer’s double standards, Salman says, “Lekin jaise yeh hai, yeh barabar aa raha hai yeh. [But as it is now, this seems just right.]”
For the unversed, during his visit to Lovely Professional University, Ashneer Grover recalled how he signed Salman Khan. He said, “Ab mai choti company tha. Mere ko overnight trust generate karna tha. To mere yeh lga ki mai Salman Khan ko brand ambassador leta hu. Ab Salman ki team ko approach kra, vo bol rahe hai saadhe saat crore rupaye lagenge. To mai calculation kar raha hu ₹100 crore pade hai – saade saath isko dunga, ek-do crore ki ad banegi, for chalani bhi to hai TV pe. [I had a small company at the time. I needed to generate trust overnight. So, I thought of taking Salman Khan as the brand ambassador. Now, when I approached Salman’s team, they said it would cost ₹7.5 crores. I started calculating – I have got ₹100 crores, ₹7.5 crores will go to him, then another ₹1-2 crores for making the ad, and I will still need to spend on running it on TV.]”
The entrepreneur continued, “To normally kya hota hai jitne ka aapne kharcha ad banane me kiya hota hai, usse do-teen guna to aap karte hi ho. To mere ko lga 20 crore ka panga hai aur 100 crore meri jebh me pade hai mai next round hoga ni hoga, mere ko nahi pta. But maine vo liya panga. And maandvali krlo na yarr, maine Salman Khan ko bola kam karde bhai, to vo saade chaar me maan gya. Ek time pe to uska manager mere ko bolne lag gya, ‘Sir aap bhindi khareedne aaye ho kya? Kitni maandvali karoge?’ Maine bola, ‘Nahi sir, hai hi nahi paise. De hi nahi sakta.’ [So, normally, whatever you spend on making an ad, you usually plan to spend two to three times more for running it. I figured it was a ₹20 crore gamble, and I had ₹100 crore in my pocket. I didn’t know if there would be a next round of funding. But I took the risk. Then I thought, let’s negotiate a bit. I asked Salman Khan to lower his fee, and he agreed to ₹4.5 crore. At one point, his manager even said to me, ‘Sir, are you here to buy vegetables? How much more will you bargain?’ I replied, ‘No, sir, I genuinely don’t have the money. I just can’t pay more.’]”
Coming back to Bigg Boss 18, the show airs on Colors TV.
