In November 2024, former Shark Tank India judge Ashneer Grover appeared as a guest on Salman Khan’s reality show during a Weekend Ka Vaar episode. During his appearance, the Bollywood superstar confronted him over past controversial remarks he had made about him. Now, two months after his stint on Bigg Boss 18, Ashneer Grover has responded, accusing Salman Khan of provoking an unnecessary argument and stirring up drama.
A viral video circulating on social media captures Ashneer Grover speaking to students at NIT Kurukshetra. In his address, he criticized Salman Khan for claiming that he didn’t even know his name. The clip features Ashneer stating, ““Faltu ka panga leke apna competition khada kiya usne. Main toh shanti se gaya tha jab mereko bulaya. Ab drama create karna ke liye aap kisiko bol do, arey main toh aapse mila hi nahi. I don’t even know your name. Abey naam nahi jaanta toh bulaaya kyun tha?” (He unnecessarily picked a fight and created competition for himself. I went there peacefully when I was invited. But just to stir up drama, you claim, ‘Oh, I’ve never even met you, I don’t even know your name.’ If you didn’t know my name, then why did you invite me in the first place?)
On Bigg Boss 18, Salman Khan stated that he had never met Ashneer Grover before. Refuting this claim, Ashneer responded, “Aur ek baat main bata deta hun. Tum agar meri company ke brand ambassador the toh aisa nahi ho sakta ki tum merese bina mile brand ambassador ban gaye. Main bhi kamino ki tarah hi company chalata tha. Everything had to go through me.” (And let me make one thing clear—if you were the brand ambassador of my company, there’s no way that could have happened without us meeting. I used to run my company with a sharp eye, just like a tough boss. Everything had to go through me).
When Ashneer Grover appeared on the Bigg Boss 18 stage, host Salman Khan criticized him for allegedly spreading false narratives. Salman accused Ashneer of claiming to have signed him and sharing incorrect figures. The actor also noted that Ashneer’s earlier attitude seemed to have changed over time. In response, Ashneer defended himself, stating that signing Salman was one of his best decisions and admitted that his statements during podcasts were exaggerated for effect. Salman had said, “The meeting wasn’t with you but with your team. Maybe you were there, but we never had any direct discussions. I saw what you said—you made it seem like we deceived you. That’s not true. Those numbers were incorrect.”
For those who may not know, Ashneer Grover previously shared on the Vaghera Vaghera podcast that he met Salman Khan in 2019 during a shoot for his brand, BharatPe, and spent around three hours with him. However, he claimed that Salman refused to take a photo with him, which left him slightly irritated. Despite this, Ashneer acknowledged Salman’s sharp business sense and his efforts to maintain a well-crafted public image.
Additionally, at a university event in 2022, Ashneer revealed that when he was launching his company with just Rs 100 crore, he requested Salman to reduce his endorsement fee, and the actor agreed.