In this post we will talk about Somy Ali, perhaps the woman who came closest to marrying Salman Khan and the only woman who was ready to go to any lengths to do so.

Somy Ali and Salman Khan

In fact, Somy Ali is the only one among all his women to have had a single-minded goal – to marry Salman Khan. Salman and Somy dated for eight years, the longest time that Salman had ever been with one girl.

Salman met Somy in 1992, a time when he was going through a particularly low phase in his professional life as most of his films flopped at the box-office. Things started looking up from 1994 with Andaaz Apna Apna and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. After that point Salman never really had a tough time in his career till Somy was with him. Though there were occasional reports of Salman straying, but Somy stood by him like a rock. Opinions may differ, but I still think that the Somy Ali phase was the best phase in Salman’s life. She had a calming influence on him and Salman was really possessive about her.

Let’s rewind to the time when Somy Ali stormed into Salman’s life and arguably, made it better.

Somy was a teenager who wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer

Somy Ali is a strange case study. As a 15-year-old girl, she was head-over-heels in love with Salman, sitting thousands of miles away from Bollywood, in Miami, USA. By the time she was 16, she had decided to marry her heart-throb, and embarked to India to marry him!

There are some interesting stories about how Somy managed to convince her dad and finally she managed to come to Mumbai in 1991. Even now in 2013, it is quite a feat for any girl. I can well imagine how she managed to do it.

Somy had often said in her earlier interviews that the real intention of her coming to India and joining Bollywood was to marry Salman Khan. She was a star-struck fan for sure, but what made her different from the rest was that she wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer.

After coming to Mumbai, Somy started staying with a friend of her dad and exploring ways to get an entry into Bollywood. She realised that the only way to meet the star was to be a part of the industry. She went to the best photographer in Bollywood at that time (Gautam Rajadhyaksha) to get her portfolio shot. Confident, beautiful and sexy, her photographs soon started circulating around.

As it’s said, the universe does conspire to fulfill the dreams of the brave, who desire it real bad. And it did in the case of Somy Ali. One such photograph reached Salman. The story goes like this — Somy by then had developed a friendship of sorts with a star secretary, who decided to get her photo across to the star. It reached Salman’s secretary and the next day it was lying on Salman’s table. Salman sensed a kind of spunk in the girl from the photographs, and immediately wanted to meet her to figure out if he can work with her for a film. That was one moment Somy was waiting for. She charmed Salman and how! Salman was swept off his feet by the 16-year-old girl at the very first meeting! Salman was then 26 years old while Somy was 16.

Soon, Salman started taking Somy’s calls even though he was dating Sangeeta. Then there came a time when Sangeeta couldn’t get through to over the phone Salman as he would always talk to Somy (there were no cell phones at that time).

Sangeeta soon realised this that Salman was cheating on her and it boiled down to a very bitter break-up.

Somy couldn’t care less and soon, they were painting the town red and posing for magazines together. Somy had got what she wanted and she couldn’t be happier.

Interestingly, Somy also became star soon but when one expected her to use her high-profile boyfriend to go higher up on the ladder, she didn’t. She was an exception. She has again admitted this on record that she was never really interested in acting in films. She did a few multi-starrers and never actively lobbied for any project. She was happy with Salman and was actually getting ready to get married to him.

Here is a slide-show of pictures of Somy Ali and Salman Khan when they were dating.

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When Somy Ali had to take ‘No’ for an answer

Salman and Somy had been on (and sometime off too) for eight years till he signed a film called Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. She would meet her nemesis in Aishwarya Rai, who enchanted Salman. Somy went through the same pattern that Sangeeta did, when she entered the scene.

Stories about how Salman and Somy broke up filled the pages of magazines. There were stories of the temperamental star pouring cola bottle on her head when she was partying with her friends. There were also reports of being slapped and dragged by her hair, but they were all denied by Somy later. Though she never ever mention physical abuse, most of her friends in the industry at that time still speak about the abuse she suffered in the hands of her boyfriend.

In 1999, Somy returned to the country she came from – USA. She was broken from the inside, but again displayed grit and spunk by coming out of depression and doing something for herself. She launched her own clothing line, and would later establish an organisation that would make her one of the leading social activists in South Asia –her organisation No More Tears supports, rescues and rehabilitates victims of domestic abuse. No doubt the issue was so close to her heart that she has dedicated her life to it.

Somy never got married.

Before we move on, here is a moving video clip of Somy Ali talking about No More Tears and the perils of ‘arranged marriages’. This video will move you to tears.

How Somy came back in Salman’s life

Salman has always kept in touch with Somy though they never met. They finally met in 2006, but by then both had moved on in their minds. But Salman, as always, kept track of what she was doing.

In spite of donations coming in for her organisation, the operations had expanded and Somy started facing a funds crunch. There was a time when it was so severe that she was struggle to keep the organisation afloat. Among the people who stood by Somy during her tough times and ensured that her organisation got out of the financial crisis was Salman. He is one of the biggest supporters of her NGO today.

Here is a clip of a live video conference with Salman Khan and the supporters of No More Tears during a fund-raiser event in the US. Though Somy Ali and Salman Khan were in two diametrically opposite time-zones and Salman was dead tired after shooting for the whole day, he came online for the video conference. I am told Salman had set up an alarm on his mobile so that he can be live on time for Somy’s event. The video is shot on the phone and jerks a lot but you will notice how tired Salman’s eyes are.

Perhaps, Khan had remembered how Somy sacrificed the best part of her life for him or may be could not forget that he had lived the best part of his life with her. Whatever be the reason, after Salman started taking interest in Somy’s social organisation, its operations expanded and Somy soon started receiving a lot of victims than she used to do before.

Salman and Somy kept in touch after 2006 and they even met in Bangkok in 2011 (that was the time when Salman was shooting for Ready). However, before anybody could speculate that she was making a comeback in his life, Somy spoke out and doused all speculations.

Ask Somy, and she might tell you that Salman is not the Salman Khan that he used to be. May be, Somy is in love with this avatar more than the one she was dating.

Before we part, here is a fact that perhaps you don’t remember. Salman Khan’s NGO Being Human is actually inspired by Somy Ali. Here is Salman admitting on camera that the name of the NGO struck him ‘late at night’ when he was with Somy. It’s a very interesting story. Watch the video.

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Here is the link of the first part one of the post. Click here -> https://bollywoodbingo.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/a-stitch-in-time/