Why did Salman reject Oprah Winfrey's interview?

The Bombay Times May 1 1997

Hard body, soft face
Foreign mag rates Salman as India's best looker

Mumbai : Critics dismissed his tear-jerking performances in Love, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Khamoshi and the media wrote him off as the brash star. Now suddenly, Salman Khan is hogging the limelight and acclaim has come from unusual quarters.
Only recently he was nominated by America's People magazine as India's "best looking actor". According to a poll conducted by the magazine among its readers, Salman has made it to the top of the good lookers list in India, beating contemporaries like Sanjay Dutt, Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Kahn, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff.

"Drop dead good looks... straight Kodak material," the magazine says of Salman, describing to him as one of India's better actors "who has charmed his way into people's hearts with a sensitive performance in Khamoshi."

In addition, Salman has also made it to the seventh position on the magazine's list of Top Ten Good-Lookers of the World, only a few places behind the likes of Tom Cruse, Brad Pitt and Matthew McCaughney. "His is a perfect blend of a soft face and a hard body," the magazine says, justifying how the actor skyrocketed to Number Seven, beating Hollywood stars like Christian Slater, Antonio Banderas and Tom Hanks.

People also compares his "arrogant physique" to the chiselled bodies of Hollywood heavyweights Sylvester Stallone, Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger and attributes his large fan following to his ability to perform mostly action scenes with such finesse as is seldom seen among Indian actors.

To top all this, Salman Khan was recently informed by the producers of the Oprah Winfrey Show that he had been voted the best-looking male in India, on the basis of a countrywide poll conducted by the organisers of the show. In addition, the producers have also invite him to be a special guest on the Oprah Show. If Salman does attend the show, he will, in all probability, be the first Indian to do so.

Salman was unavailable for comment as he is away in Singapore, for a series of stage shows. His sister, Alvira Agnihotri confirmed that "Salman did receive a letter from the Oprah Winfrey Show telling him that he was asked to appear on the show as a guest." She added, however, that "I have no idea whether Salman will appear on the show or not."

Meanwhile, Salman's directors are all praise for their good-looking here. Sanjay Bhansali who directed Salman in Khamoshi and will work with the actor again in his next film also starring Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan, feels, "Salman is definitely among the best looking actors today." Bhansali who rates Dharmendra as the all-time best-looking Indian actor says that "Like Dharamji, Salman too, has that earthy look to his. Salman is a simple person, and I think he exudes that simplicity very beautifully."

The reason Salman looks so good, Bhansali explains, "is because he's a happy man at heart, and that happiness and contentment reflects on his face." Bhansali does add, however that "it's unfair to call Salman just a goodlooker, because he's a terrific actor too, who carries off even the toughest of scenes with grace."

And finally, for those wondering how Salman managed it to the top of the charts, here are the hunk's vital statistics: arms (biceps) 17 inches; chest 42 inches; waist 29 inches; hips 40 inches; thighs 23 inches. What more could your ask for?