Salman Khan, Saajan and a Sri Lankan fan’s journey to Hindi and IPL

NEW DELHI: Two best friends, Aman (Sanjay Dutt) and Akash (Salman Khan), fall for the same woman, Pooja (Madhuri Dixit). But in the emotional climax of Saajan, Akash steps aside, bringing Pooja to Aman. “Pooja ko laaya hoon, uske Saajan se milaane,” he says, placing her hand in Aman’s - that moment turned the film into a Bollywood classic.

Watching that very scene as a child in Kegalle, Shehan Malik, now an actor and content creator, made a life decision.

“Last scene mein Salman Khan ke aankh se aansu nikal rahe hain. Woh scene dekhne ke baad hee maine decide kiya ki main actor banunga (In the last scene, tears were flowing from Salman Khan’s eyes. After watching that scene, I decided that I would become an actor),” Shehan tells TimesofIndia.com in Hindi.

Learning Hindi through Bollywood

And thus began Shehan's pursuit to learn, and speak hindi. “I started watching only Hindi movies. And after that, even I didn’t know how, one day I was standing in front of the mirror trying Salman Khan’s dialogues. That’s when I realised I knew a little bit of Hindi,” recalls Shehan, whose mother tongue is Sinhala.

He never took any formal lessons. The language came gradually through scenes, songs, and repeated viewings of Bollywood films. For someone from a Sinhala-speaking background, it’s was an unusual path.

An actor and content creator by profession now, Shehan’s Hind-speaking videos have gone viral on social media. And like most Indian kids across the subcontinent, cricket was a big part of his upbringing, and he even played the game at the junior level in Sri Lanka alongside Sri Lankan internationals Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.

"Bachpan mein mai cricket khelta thha (I played cricket in my childhood). My school was St. Mary's College in Kegalle. I played cricket for five years, till the U-19 [level]. Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, I have played at the provincial level with them."

IPL through a Sri Lankan lens

Shehan came to India at the beginning of the IPL 2026. He first saw some matches in Delhi, then Mumbai and then in Hyderabad.