Salman Bhai trusts me with his life: Shera

For some he is larger than life, and for some, he is the rotten apple of Bollywood. But for one man who has stood by him through thick and thin, rain or shine, every single day of the last 15 years, Salman Khan is nothing less than God Almighty. It is really difficult to fathom his reverence for Salman Khan, till his personal bodyguard of 15 years, Shera says with an absolute stoic expression on his face - "I can give my life for Bhai!"

So deep runs this otherwise simple relationship - between a bodyguard and his master - that Salman has spoken of Shera as being part of his own 'family'. And it comes as no surprise when the latter is so outspoken about his dedication to the actor, who is often perceived in the industry as well as in the media as a black sheep. His spats with his colleagues and co-stars are infamous and ugly. He and Shah Rukh Khan are arch enemies and apart from his other enemies in the film fraternity, he only recently made headlines with his fall out with close friend Sanjay Dutt as well.

If you ask Shera to reflect on why Salman, time and again finds himself making the wrong kind of news, he is visibly indignant. He vehemently denies Salman's public persona and instead says, "This angry young man image of Salman is entirely untrue. It is you guys in the media who have labeled him an angry guy. If you ask me, Salman Bhai is the sweetest man and is extremely nice."

Interestingly as a token of his gratitude towards his bodyguard for keeping him from harm's way, Salman recently had Shera unveil the first look of his upcoming film Bodyguard, in which he stars opposite Kareena Kapoor. Salman plays a bodyguard in the film and it has been reported that while the star was offered Rs 7 crore to don the uniform of a certain security company,

he turned down the offer to button up in the official uniform of the security company owned by none other than his own bodyguard. Shera credits the entire episode to Salman Bhai's unique way of paying people back for their service towards the star. He says, "There can be no bigger honour than Salman Bhai asking me to unveil the look of his new film." It has also been reported that Shera will be shaking a leg in an item number in the film with Salman for company.

There is pride thick in his voice when he tells IBNLive how he has come to be regarded as Salman's shadow at every public or private gathering that the actor attends. He says, "I need to make sure that Bhai is always safe and nobody disturbs him. I guarantee his privacy. In return, he loves me and trusts me with his life."

According to Shera, the only time he doesn't shadow the star is when the latter is inside the confines of his palatial house in Bandra or when he is with his friends. And all our queries about Sallu's 'good female friends' from the industry are bludgeoned out of the conversation. Shera maintains a passive expression as he nonchalantly mentions, "I don't sit with them when Bhai meets his friends. Whenever he meets people, I never sit next to him."

Ask him what he likes best about his employer of 15 years and pat comes the reply: "The biggest thing on Salman Bhai's mind when he goes out into the crowd is that none of his fans should ever get hurt in the melee that ensues every time. He cares for them. Bhai tells me - do what you have to do but make sure no fan ever gets hurt." Now that's something the star's ardent fans can rejoice about...