By Hindustan Times
In Bollywood, he's known to be bighearted. So Salman Khan’s benevolent moves hardly come as a surprise. However the superstar — for a while now — was helping his ex-girlfriend Somy Ali run her Florida-based non-profit-organisation, Not more Tears (NMT).
The American foundation that rescues women from domestic abuse have been “struggling financially” for a while, and Somy is precisely reliant on private donors and government funding. “But the grants haven't come through because of the state of the economy. Our country is struggling as a whole,” says Somy. So private donors are really pivotal for NMT’s sustainability on the moment.”
That’s where Salman enters the image. Somy maintains that her ex-boyfriend and his friends “have done greater than enough” for NMT.
Somy Ali
“It’s only because of their donations that we've got sustained this far,” says the 35-year-old former actor. Apparently, Salman’s friends donated greater than $1,50,000 to NMT last year.
“Some of his friends have contributed, but they decide to remain anonymous and that i respect them for it,” confirms Somy. “Salman doesn’t owe me anything. The truth that he has encouraged his friends to donate is proof of his large heartedness. Personally, I'D never ask him for help. Probably that’s why we've got been friends for TWENTY YEARS. We respect each other, but don’t expect anything in return.”
At the similar time, Somy accepts that NMT, founded around four years ago, is “hanging by a thread.”
“Initially, I used $2,86,000 of my very own money to fund my charity, but those funds have now depleted. So this 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 he or she says: “No (plans) up to now. Salman and my missions are different.” Lastly, does she watch Salman’s films? “No, I TRULY don't get time to take care of with films because of NMT. Abuse has no days off and neither do I,” she says.
