MUMBAI: Bollywood actor and host, Maniesh Paul, was recently seen setting the stage on fire alongside none other than Salman Khan during the recently culminated Da-Bangg tour. Interestingly, this dynamite anchor-turned-actor also shares a warm bond of camaraderie with the Bhaijaan of Bollywood.

Maniesh is among the few people from the Bollywood industry, who is quite close to Salman Khan. The duo, initially hit off because Salman found Maniesh’s work extremely entertaining and over the years they developed a strong bond, which goes beyond their professional commitments.

“Bhaijaan keeps guiding me wherever he feels I am going wrong or where he feels I can improve. I grab that advice. He is like family,” says Maniesh.

Maniesh is always looking up to Salman for inspiration. In fact, when he was approached for the Da-Bangg tour, his hand was fractured and he wasn’t in his best shape but he took inspiration from Salman and got back in shape before the tour.

“I panicked when I got a call. I told them about my condition and they said don’t worry this will happen next year. I was overjoyed and decided that if I have to go with Salman sir, I have to not only be as fit as him but also build my physique in such a way that I should be able to go on stage shirtless like him.”

Salman even encouraged Maniesh to explore his singing talent and lend complete support to help him release his maiden single ‘Harjai.’ 

“He's the one who told me to turn into a singer, otherwise it wouldn’t have happened,” recalls Maniesh.