In Bollywood, he is known to be bighearted. So Salman Khan’s benevolent moves hardly come as a surprise. But the superstar — for some time now — has been helping his ex-girlfriend Somy Ali run her Florida-based non-profit-organisation, No More Tears (NMT).
The American foundation that rescues domestic abuse has been “struggling financially” for a while, and Somy is strictly reliant on private donors and government funding. “But the grants have not come through due to the state of the economy. Our country is struggling as a whole,” says Somy. So private donors are really pivotal for NMT’s sustainability at the moment.”
That’s where Salman enters the picture. Somy maintains that her ex-boyfriend and his friends “have done more than enough” for NMT.
“It’s only due to their donations that we have sustained this far,” says the 35-year-old former actor. Apparently, Salman’s friends donated more than $1,50,000 to NMT last year.
“Some of his friends have contributed, but they choose to remain anonymous and I respect them for it,” confirms Somy. “Salman doesn’t owe me anything. The fact that he has encouraged his friends to donate is proof of his large heartedness. Personally, I would never ask him for help. Probably that’s why we have been friends for 20 years. We respect each other, but don’t expect anything in return.”
At the same time, Somy accepts that NMT, founded around four years ago, is “hanging by a thread.”
“Initially, I used $2,86,000 of my own money to fund my charity, but those funds have now depleted. So it is a daily struggle,” says Somy, who acted in films like Andolan (1995), Yaar Gaddar (1994), and Aao Pyar Karen (1994).
Ask Somy — who has rescued 182 victims since 2008 — if she intends to team up with Salman’s Being Human foundation, and she says: “No (plans) so far. Salman and my missions are different.” Lastly, does she watch Salman’s films? “No, I really do not get time to keep up with films due to NMT. Abuse has no days off and neither do I,” she says.
