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Bollywood actor-turned-producer Nikhil Dwivedi has spoken out in defence of Salman Khan following filmmaker AR Murugadoss’ remarks suggesting that Salman’s late arrivals on the sets of Sikandar made shooting difficult for the cast and crew ultimately leading to the movies box office failure. The comments which came shortly after similar claims by director Abhinav Kashyap have sparked widespread discussion in the industry. Dwivedi Counters Murugadoss’ Claims Dwivedi who collaborated with Salman as a co-producer on Dabangg 3 subtly countered Murugadoss’ statement saying Salman’s track record speaks for itself. “I will give you an example for the last 10 to 15 years all of Salman’s films have been releasing mostly on Eid; that means he is working backwards because he has to catch a particular date” said Nikhil. Challenging the notion that Salman is habitually late he added “How do you think he has been able to catch a particular date for the last 10 to 15 years without actually finishing that film on time? How can he finish that film on time if he is not shooting enough? ‘Discipline Is Not About Clocking Hours’ Dwivedi further elaborated on how discipline in filmmaking cannot be measured by fixed hours on set. “Are you saying that an artist needs to arrive on the sets at 9 AM to show that he is dedicated? Or is it important that he is spending enough time on the sets shooting that film working back to back to catch a particular date? Of course you can debate whether you have liked the film or not liked the film but you have to understand they are all large films. It takes 120 to 180 days to shoot a film with Salman which means he is working non-stop for those 6 months on a film.” Salman’s Commitment to Bigg Boss Dwivedi also pointed out Salman’s consistency with his long-running television commitments. “On top of that Salman is doing Bigg Boss. Has there ever been a weekend where he just randomly didn’t show up or was late without a valid reason? It’s always either because he’s out of the country or busy with another shoot. So clearly he’s showing up and honouring his commitments” he said. ‘Every Actor Has Their Own Rhythm’ Speaking about the flexibility an actor deserves Nikhil noted “Maybe everyone’s expecting the shoot to begin at 11 AM but maybe it won’t. Maybe the artist prefers to start at 2 PM instead. That’s his prerogative as an artist; he knows when he’s most comfortable working. So I think this whole debate is overblown. Salman’s reputation speaks for itself.” Personal Experience Working with Salman Khan Recalling his personal experience working with the superstar on Dabangg 3 Nikhil shared “Firstly Salman Khan produced it and he allowed me to participate in it as a producer.” He added “I have to say he is the most easygoing actor that anybody can work with and I am not saying this casually; I really mean it. He has no demands.” ‘Salman Khan Is Fuss-Free and Simple’ Praising Salman’s simplicity Dwivedi concluded “We were shooting in Rajasthan and Salman was so fuss-free like give any vehicle to him he will never even look at the model of the vehicle that has been given and is absolutely okay with whatever we provided. So theres been no difficulty at all with him.”