Actor Govinda recalled advising Salman Khan before their 2007 film ‘Partner’, when Salman was going through a difficult phase. Govinda urged him to exercise, focus on himself and regain his confidence, telling him he had the qualities to be a major star. Govinda said he also predicted Salman would “rule” the industry for 10 years, which he believes came true.

Mumbai: Actor Govinda recently recalled a conversation with Salman Khan before they began shooting for their 2007 film 'Partner', saying he advised the actor to work on himself during a difficult phase and told him he would go on to "rule" the film industry for a decade.

In conversation with ANI, Govinda said Salman was dealing with "pain and distress" at the time and had become withdrawn. Govinda said he decided to speak to him and encouraged him to look beyond his personal troubles.

"Salman was going through a lot of pain and distress. And when someone is troubled by himself, whether it is because of love, hopes, or expectations, there is no one else who can really cure that. So, he had become very withdrawn. I thought I should introduce him to Satya, so we sat together and had a drink. While we were drinking, I told him, "Salman, you've looked outward enough. Now look within yourself," he told ANI.

"At that time, I weighed 114 kilos. It was the time when I had just come out of politics. I told him, "By the time I lose weight, I'll already be a character actor, right? I'll continue doing the kind of roles I was doing in Partner, I was doing comedy." I told him, "You are the hero, but you don't look like one right now. You look unhappy, you look sad. Come out of this," he added