Dia Mirza Recalls Salman Khan’s 19-year-old prediction: ‘One day you will play my mother’

Actress Dia Mirza sat down with filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan recently for a candid episode on Farah’s YouTube channel. The two women met at Dia’s home, cooked banana bread together, and spoke openly about Bollywood’s past and present. One story from the conversation quickly caught public attention.

What Salman said on set

Dia recalled a specific moment from the sets of the 2002 film ‘Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge’. She was 19 years old at the time. She, Rajpal Yadav, and Salman Khan were sitting together between shots. A woman on set was playing Salman’s mother in the film. Dia noticed that the actress had recently had a baby and pointed this out to Salman.

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“She is playing your mother, and she just had a baby,” Dia told him. “That means she must be quite young.”

Salman’s response was blunt. “Don’t worry, this will happen to you also.”

He went further. Dia recalled him telling her during the early days of her career: “Dekhna, ek din tu meri maa ka role karegi.” Translated: “One day you will play my mother.”

Dia said she was horrified.

A remark that stayed with her

When Farah suggested on the show that Dia should work with Salman again, Dia was candid. She said that Salman now works with younger actresses. The comment was not made with bitterness. It was a simple acknowledgment of how Bollywood operates. Younger women come in. Women who were once leading ladies are edged out or offered character roles. For a 19-year-old told she would one day play her male co-star’s on-screen mother, the moment was telling.

The exchange is a small but sharp window into the age politics that have long defined the Hindi film industry. Male stars continue working well into their 50s and 60s, often opposite women half their age. Women, on the other hand, are frequently reminded of their shelf life early in their careers. Salman made that prediction when Dia was a teenager, just starting out.

About the film

‘Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge’ released in cinema halls on 22 February 2002. The film was directed by Pankaj Parashar. It starred Salman Khan, Dia Mirza, and Sushmita Sen in the lead roles. The supporting cast included Inder Kumar, Nishigandha Wad, Sharat Saxena, Mukesh Rishi, Rajpal Yadav, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Anjan Srivastav, Pankaj Dheer, Alok Nath, Razak Khan, Johnny Lever, Sumeet Pathak, and Arbaaz Khan.

The film was a romantic action drama. It did not perform well at the box office.

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