LUCKNOW - Azad Ansari is a fan of Bollywood star Salman Khan. But not just another fan - he dresses up like a woman in salwaar kameez, earrings and the works, and firmly believes that he is the superstar’s “girlfriend”.

Ansari, a resident of Padao town in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh, some 300 km from Lucknow, has been living like a “girlfriend” of Salman Khan for the last 12 years and dreams of getting married to the Bollywood actor.

Ansari now wears salwaar kameez with a dupatta over his head, dons earrings, colourful bangles, a nose ring and applies lipstick and eye-liner to show his “commitment” towards the star.

“I am in deep love with Salman. He is my life…For him (Salman) only, I changed myself completely. I can do anything for him,” Ansari, 38, told IANS over phone.

“I don’t wish to have anything from Allah…I only want the almighty to bless me so that I can marry Salman and start a new life,” he added.

Ansari left his parents and his wife to live his life as Salman Khan’s “girlfriend”.

“They (parents and wife) had problems with me and my relationship with Salman. I tried to pacify them, but when I realised they would not let me fulfil my aspiration of marrying Salman, I had no option but to leave them,” Ansari said.

For the last eight years, Ansari has been living alone in Padao town of Chandauli district.

What Ansari claims to be “love” started as a crush on the actor.

“It all started when I along with some of my friends watched Salman’s movie ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ in one of the talkies. Gradually, after seeing some more movies of the actor, I realised that I had some special feelings for Salman,” Ansari said.

“When I told my friends about my feelings, they laughed at me and asked me to forget Salman as I would not be able to meet him in this life. Unaware of the deep affection I had in my heart for Salman, my friends treated me as a laughing-stock. But that has not made me change and what was affection subsequently transformed into love.”

Ansari is even ready to opt for a sex change, provided Salman promises to marry him.

“If I can live like his girlfriend, I will have no hesitation in going in for a surgery to change my sex. The moment Salman assures me of marriage, I will opt for the surgery.”

Ansari, who makes his livelihood from the rent he gets from his parents’ house, claims that he has written over 1,000 letters to Salman and the actor responded to one of them with “I love you jaan”.

“I poured my heart into all the letters. I tried to explain to Salman about the love I have for him… Sallu replied once and wrote ‘I love you jaan’ in his letter,” said Ansari, who has become a topic of discussion in the entire town.

Residents of the town say they were taken by surprise when they came to know about Ansari’s eccentric behaviour.

“Initially, we were taken aback when we heard that Ansari decks up like a woman for Salman. I remember, first time I saw Ansari in woman’s attire in the marketplace it was unbelievable for me,” Mitlesh Dubey, who runs a grocery store in the village, told IANS.

Kalim Ahmad, who has a tailoring shop in the town, said: “Initially, we thought Ansari was joking, but when we realised the fact we were quite surprised.”

(Asit Srivastava can be contacted at asit.s@ians.in)