Mumbai, Nov 18 (IANS): Ashneer Grover, the former managing director of the Indian fintech company, BharatPe, has been getting mercilessly trolled on the Internet after his appearance on the reality show ‘Bigg Boss 18’. However, Ashneer took to his X on Monday, and issued a clarification in his defence stating that everything said by him earlier with regards to his meeting with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan is absolutely true.
He wrote, “I hope you enjoyed the Bigg Boss weekend ka vaar ! I had good fun. And I am sure the particular episode got great TRP / viewership. BTW all of statements are TRUE. Salman is a great host & actor - Salman knows what works on Bigg Boss - I’ve always praised Salman for his sense of self and business - not a single thing demeaning said for him ever - My deal numbers are always correct (bank / auditor verified)”.
He further mentioned, “Met Salman in an exclusive meeting on the brand collab for 3 hours in May 2019 in JW Marriott Juhu - along with the director of ad (it’s ok if he doesn’t remember me - I was not a public figure then - he meets tons of people) - The invite for coming as guest on Bigg Boss was not ‘unnamed’ - just like the cheque for the same ;) And finally I’ve a pic with him - which I didn’t earlier ;) Thanks @BeingSalmanKhan. Keep rocking”.
For the uninitiated, Ashneer had claimed that back in 2019, Salman was brought on board as the face of BharatPe while Grover was still at the helm. He claimed to have negotiated the actor’s fee from Rs 7.5 crore to Rs 4.5 crore, likening the negotiation to buying vegetables at a market. He also alleged that Salman’s team denied him a photo with the star, leading to a tongue-in-cheek remark about Salman’s “attitude”.
During the latest episode of ‘Bigg Boss’, Salman clarified that contrary to Grover’s claims, they never had an extended one-on-one meeting, nor was there any camaraderie as implied in Grover’s public statements and he got to know his name only when the makers said that he would be visiting the show.
However, social media users seemed to be in no mood to buy Ashneer’s side of the story on X and advised him to speak carefully going forward.