Salman Khan: The Real Superstar
iView Author: SATYENDRA JHA (Pune, India)
Email:satyendrajha30 [at] gmail [dot]com
SALMAN KHAN: THE REAL SUPERSTAR
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Disclaimer : The views presented in the article are personal views of the author.
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Can one man guarantee success in the film-industry? We all agree that in a team effort, success is the result of a collective effort towards the common goal. There have been numerous occasions where the director has taken the blame of failure of a movie on his personal shoulders, but he has heaped praise on the entire team for the success of any film. In fact, RGV is quite vocal in support of the claim that success is due to the whole team, whereas failure is solely his own.
One of the biggest talking points in the Hindi film industry for the last decade-and-a-half has been about who is biggest star among the three Khans: Aamir, Salman or Shahrukh. The supporters of the stars have gone to lengths to make their point across the supporters of the ‘rival’ camp, and they have not even shied away from either deifying their ‘idol’, or from running-down the ‘rivals’ by whatever means possible. The more sane voices have tried to point out towards the body of work under the belts of the respective stars, and have a comparative analysis of the good/bad products.
There is no denying the fact that if analysed individually, all the three have had their share of hits and misses, commercially successful as well as artistically uplifting. Practically speaking, there is hardly any edge with any one star to choose from, and they deserve to be where they are for their individual contribution to the industry. Its only when we look at the circumstances under which, and the team with which the commercially successful films have been given by these three pillars of stardom, that we realise the edge and extent of stardom that Salman Khan enjoys over his compatriots.
Just think of a Salman Khan movie, and chances are, all we will remember would be the name of the film, and the fact that Salman played a romantic/action/comedy role in it. We will not even bother about the story-line, or other cinematic brilliance expected from any other film. It is even likely that we won’t remember the name of the director either, probably because the director is a newcomer, and the production house is not necessarily a biggie. The songs would be ordinary, the dialogues clichéd, and the entire experience of watching the movie would give us a sense of déjà vu. The fact that it is a Salman Khan movie is the only solace that we will carry back, and that is sufficient for many among us to throng to the cinema-hall to catch our favourite superstar.
Contrast this with the films of the other two Khans. Shahrukh Khan believes in playing safe, and prefers working with the Chopras and Johars of the industry. Most of the roles undertaken by him are commercially a ‘safe bet’, and the brilliant marketing and PR efforts coupled with the names involved make sure that the movie is successful even before it has completed its first-week-run. Aamir Khan, on the other hand, doesn’t worry much about the names he is associated with, and makes sure that the product he is involved with is unique in its own way to garner a buzz from the day it is announced, to create awareness about the movie, and to generate a high-level curiosity around the time of release, all resulting in audience thronging to the theatres irrespective of the merits of the film, as claimed or purported by the team behind the film, Aamir himself being the most vocal. Also the fact that Aamir spaces his films wisely, and mostly follows one-film-at-a-time approach, those who swear by his talent (and there are many in that category, including yours truly), just o ahead and watch it.
It might apparently seem that both SRK and Aamir also sell the movie by their name, but in most cases, we end up taking away much more than just the ‘star-value’ from the movie, in terms of either a good story, or some beautiful visuals and great songs. In comparison, all we get from a Salman Khan film is him and him alone (in most of the cases). He is neither a good actor like Aamir, nor has the back-up of the mightiest of film fraternity like SRK, nor has martial-arts skills of an Akshay Kumar. Yes, he is extremely good-looking, but then, so are most of the stars, in their own way. Then, what unique thing does Salman Khan offer for people to watch his otherwise atrocious movies in such huge numbers? We may not really have an answer to this phenomenon.
All the three Khans started their career around the same time, and were involved in some good, some bad and some atrocious choices in the beginning of their career. All the three of them have given some colossal hits already. But with time, SRK & Aamir moved ahead with their own brand of exclusivity (in terms of persons or projects they would work with), whereas Salman Khan remained there, associating himself with one ordinary product after the other with his trademark benevolence. Sample some of the ‘commercially successful’ movies that he has given us, and you will appreciate the point I am driving at: Sanam Bewafaa, Veergati, Bandhan, Judwaa, Auzaar, Jaanam Samjha Karo, Hello Brother, Biwi No. 1, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Chal Mere Bhai, Tere Naam, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, Garv: Pride & Honour, Phir Milenge, Lucky, Partner… phew… Put any other star in these movies, and chances are, the film as well as the star would be overtly criticised or worse, out-rightly rejected for their association with the torture-fest. However, the same no-quality film with Salman Khan becomes worth a watch because of the unmistaken fan-following he has generated over the years.
Salman Khan is also the favourite ‘guest / friendly / special’ appearance guy of the industry, for the obvious reason that he can’t say No where he should, and taking advantage of this weakness, the producers / directors approach him, because they know the name will sell tickets more than the quality of the product. Sample these: Deewana Mastana, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, Baghban, No Entry, Baabul, Salaam-e-Ishq, Saawaria, Hello, Heroes and many more which I seem to forget for now.
Another point to be noted in Salman’s favour is that from the very beginning, he has given hits with the lesser known directors, as he was not afraid to experiment, and also his confidence was always with him, so he didn’t need to be convinced about the “names” associated with the project. Maine Pyaar Kiya saw Rajshree Productions come out with a big budget movie after almost a decade with the then unknown Sooraj Barjatya making his debut as a director, and Bhagyashree, a virtual non-entity giving him company. Baaghi had Deepak Shivdasani as the director, and Nagma, again almost an unknown face as the heroine. Patthar Ke Phool was directed by Anant Balani, and Raveen Tandon debuted with him. Similarly, Sanam Bewafa was directed by Sawan Kumar Tak, and heroine was Chandni, about whom nobody had heard earlier, or has even her whereabouts since. Fact of the matter is, Salman Khan drew the crowds on his own merit, and made a career out of many others associated with those movies.
Salman Khan has that typical screen presence, wherein the moment he comes on screen, you just forget about the other faces filling the space, be it a supporting actor, or the villain, or even the pretty face of a heroine. Any other actor with such ordinary ‘acting prowess’ would have crumbled under the tremendous competition that the other two Khans presented to him, but Salman has his own way of keeping his loyal fans happy, and that is an enigma. I am in no way propagating his films or his choice of roles. If anything, I prefer not to watch his movies in most of the cases. But the hysterical following that he enjoys across the country is something no other Khan can boast of. In fact, SRK has himself accepted in one of his interviews that it is to Salman’s credit that he has made some of the movies work at the BO despite the inherent weakness of the film, and no other actor would have garnered so much attention to those movies except Salman Khan. And that is the true hallmark of a ‘superstar’.
Many people argue that he is repetitive in most of his roles in terms of his acting or mannerisms. I personally feel that being repetitive is what makes him the star that he is, since the ‘star’ lives, whereas the actor dies with the character. That is the reason why all the movies of Salman Khan are watched as ‘his’ movies, rather than for the character that he portrays. And that is what his fans take back home, and remember him for, long after the film is over.
Tags: aamir khan, akshay kumar, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan
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Kundan Shah
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nice passionate writing…but no substance. u seem to be swayed by his charm like some of his female fans.
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writing abt sawan kumar…he is a hit director with movies like souten and saajan ki saheli[though movies were crap], and sanam bewafa was salman’s 5th movie. so, obviously he did not have much choices. he went with a hit director.
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u have mentioned MPK and baaghi, which was again his 2nd and 3rd movie. so, no credit to sallu
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if anyone has been bold in accepting to work with new directors despite his no.1 position, its aamir. working with likes of john mathew mathan, vikram bhatt, rakesh mehra etc; where he was a big star and these directors were almost new
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regarding guest/friendly/special appearance…u have it wrong. by no means was it a guest appearance in baabul, sawariya, no entry, salam-e-ishq; it was multi-starrer movie. sunny deol was supporting actor in damini[won awards in same category] and not special/guest, same goes for sallu.
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coming to commercially successful movies…wrong again. some of his big flops have been veergati, auzaar, janam samjha karo, chal mere bhai, garv and of course phir milenge. plz get ur data right
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coming to the point of carrying movie on his shoulders alone….yuvraaj, heroes, hello, god tussi gr8 ho, sawariya, salam-e-ishq, kyonki etc just to name a few.
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enthu write-up, but seems like u r out to do a image re-vamp of sallu like any other tabloid which has half baked articles with baseless praises and totally unreliable data. sorry to say but i was disappointed.
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by the way, i like salman khan too; but i call spade a spade. in his last 5-6 years in the movie industry he has not been acting at all. he sleep-walks through his role and his acting on-screen appears as if he is doing a favor to somebody, jaise kisi pe ehsaan kar raha ho :(
i agree with the previous response. I personally feel he does not at all deserve the stardom he is gifted with.
Barring HAHK and Phir Milenge,and maybe HDDCS there have been not one genuinely good and non gimmicky film he has been a part of. Three films in close to two decades, thats not impressive. As far as him not working with bigwigs etc is concerned, perhaps that is because established people refrain from succumbing to his pretentiousness and tantrums when they can get better work with much less hassle.
Also, looking at his films, it is clear that he has been a part of some of the worst films to have ever come out of the Hindi film industry.
@ Rals: appreciate your detailed response to the write-up. let me make it very clear at the outset, as i hv done in the post as well, that i also do not allude to Salman being a better actor than the other two Khans. i do not personally think he is too good-looking either. if anything, his face is puffed up for all i care.
saawan Kumar may hv been a hit director, but Salman had already created a wave bythen, and it was Sawan Kumar whose career needed an immediate boost, and Salman became the saviour.
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MPK didnt hv credit to Sallu, but nor did it hv credit to the director who was absolutely new, or the production house, which needed a revamp, n rajshree productions was ressurected with MPK. with all our tinted glasses, we must accept that the biggest reason MPK was a hit was becoz Sallu was universally liked in the role that he played.
For Baaghi, the songs, the unusual treatment of the story, and the latest euphoria abt salman post-MPK worked in its favour.
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its not a comparison of the movies with the new directors. in that sense, evn SRK has done quite a few. Over sucha long career, they r bound to be associated with various directors, some of them even being new. u hv mentioned john mathew mathan, rakesh mehra and vikram bhatt. well, sarfarosh wud hv been a hit with any other actor as well, but yes, aamir gave it a new meaning altogher. ROM gave rang De Basanti, which was as much a movie with a stellar cast and performances, and a great direction. Aamir was just the most important part of the whole picture. Vikram Bhatt, well, i never gave him credit for originality, and Ghulam was as original as a xeroxed photocopy. still, it was handled quite well, so credit to aamir to make these movies work in his own inimitable style.
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@ Rals: baabul, saawaria & no entry were not a sallu movie, their intention was to just have sallu’s name associated to garner more eyeballs. no entry was a mad caper, where all sallu did was to sing a few songs, provide some comic relief, and give a fitting end in the climax as the saviour of all. but IMO, it was more an anil kapoor fardeen khan vehicle. salman was there just becoz he is a superstar. salaam-e-ishq was amulti-starrer, but among all the stories, maximum footage was given to his portion. its a different thing that tht section turned out to be the most turd, what with his calling himself “raaoouul” whenever he cud.
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all his movies u hv termed as flop were quite handy to generate revenue from such locations where multiplex doesnt even exist. im not saying his movies do not flop, but im trying to compare his case with the “mithun-phenomenon”. i hope u understand what i mean to say.
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im in no way defending him. i personally do not watch his movies at all. all im tryingto put here is that he has managed to give hits despite anyreal support from the backers, or without the inherent merits of the product, just by virtue of his sheer stardom.
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@ Ayush: exactly my point when u mention the type of movies he has done. but they hv still been superhits.
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if u take an aamir or SRK film, u expect a good team at work, hence the product to be better than average. in a salman movie, u go with zero expectations, and whatever u get, its primarily due to him n him alone.
yaar Satyen, i guess first time i am disagreeing with some thing u written. Yeah Salman is commercially succesful, makes a good TV host( Dus Ka Dum), but movie wise barring some like Andaz Apna Apna, HAHK majority of his movies have been down right “rubbish”. Not just that, but in some movies his guest acts, have made me cringe. His good son act in Baghbaan, just totally spoiled,what was otherwise a decent watch. And as Rals, has pointed out, for past 5-6 years, he has been going on auto pilot, sleep walking through every role. For me Salman is a latter day Jeetendra, an actor of very limited talent, but who had many commercial success, with a few good performances thrown in.
@ Ratnakar: thats what exactly my point is. i hv never mentioned him to be a good actor. i cant even think of comparing him with an aamir or even SRK, as far as emoting on screen is concerned.
but despite that, he has given us hits. and the movies do run into weeks based solely on his name, rather than the content.
Salman and Akshay’s movies worked because they had an audience, which came to movies just for entertainment, they just wanted to see their favorite stars on screen. But the fact is such a strategy has its own limited appeal. The Jeetu-Jayaprada-Sridevi Southie remakes were a rage in the early 80’s, but by the 90’s, those flicks were totally gone, and Jeetu’s career itself went southwards later. Salman was relying solely on his star power to make his movies a succes, but as last year showed, only star power can pull your movies to some extent. Not even AB could save so many disasters in the late 80’s and 90’s. And almost the same thing is happening to Akshay also, after SIK, it was assumed he could do anything, but CC2C and now Tasveer, has shown up the limitations.
The reason why Aamir and SRK keep going is not just the fact that they play the media well, its because they do go out of the beaten track at times. Like SRK goes out to do a CDI, where he plays a hockey coach, with no heroines, no Swiss Alps settings, no dream duets and i thought even his Suri character in RNBDJ was different. And Aamir willingly plays second fiddle to a kid in TZP. I think Aamir and SRK, will be around for quite a long time, due to their judicious mix of doing the mainstream stuff and the “Hatke” stuff.
this post was solely on the basis of the eyeballs garnered by the movies of the three Khans. i never discused the merits of salman’s movies, let alone claiming them to be superior. personally speaking, im an ardent fan of aamir, and hv DVDs of almost all his movies, whereas i dont even preferto watch sallu’s movies, evn if he is playing a guest role (eg. baabul, saawariya, hello, heroes, yuvraaj and many more).
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i agree that in the long run Salman will just be remembered on a footnote while SRK & Aamir might take reams of newsprint, but my point is, he has beaten the other two Khans simply on the merit of that personal ’star’ charisma. thts why ppl still watch his movies. of course, like any thing with a shaky-base, salman’s fan-base is alos getting tired of his repititions, resulting in dwindling fate of his later releases.
Satyen, btw Garv, is one of my guilty pleasures, he, he, watch it whenever it comes on TV.
Chandramukhi sucked badly, and what made it more abominable, was that it was a remake of one of my fav movies Big. Lousy remake.
Have not seen God Tussi Great Ho, but from all accounts, i heard it was a real stinker.
Salman Khan: The Real Superstar. LOL. so rediff!
In GTGH I found AB doing a Morgan Freeman worse than Sallu doing a Jim Carey.
@ Magik: wish rediff were so elaborate as i hv tried to be. plz read my comments in consonance with my post, and u will realise that “lifafa dekhkar khat ka mazmoon bhaanp lete hain” is not necessarily always appropriate.
Hi Satyendra,
Real good point made.
Got me thinking about the entire phenomena of stardom.
@others: Guys, he is not making a case in favour or against the ‘actor’ Salman….he is making a case in favour of ‘Star’Salman Khan.
Aand think of it…he is right.
@ SJ: sawry if that hurt. but the headline made me feel sad for Bachchan Saab. So… no offence bro… to each his own…
@ Magik: hey, its OK bro, it didnt hurt. in fact i was given the sort of advance-feeler by the edit-team of PFC that i must expect backlash for such a “controversial” post.
@ Rishabh Pandey: thanks bro. Im glad someone has seen the “intent” of the post, not just the “content”.
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hope others see some point in your comment, and look at the post from the perspective that it was intended.
@Satyendra Jha,
Salman has popularity and his own fan base. Producers have faith that he can be helpful in sailing their boats also and he has proved it true also. He has been helpful in many cases.
That should be one of the reasons behind his longevity in the film industry. While SRK does films with few chosen directors only, Aamir Khan does few selective films only, Salman does many films a year and so many times to help some of his friends or known persons. That credibility should help him.
afterall he puts on stake his stardom whenever he selects a weak film.
For such people he will be quite a good human being. His shortcomings in acting may become small in comparison to his appeal among masses and his helping nature.
and its not that he has not given good films or he has not acted well. He also has few films on which he can feel satisfaction and may be proud like MPK, HAHK, AAA etc.
Comedy is one area where Salman, SRK and Aamir all the three can be considered on an equal status as all of them have given successful films in that genre. This is the only area where each of them can appear with rest of the two and film can work without any kind of bitter comparison or trial to declare one as the best.
He has not been able to give a film in the league of his best films for many years is also true. He should think about his responsibility towards quality cinema also because he has star power and he can select good story and can help a new but good and talented director.
@ Aditya Oberoi: Koi baat nahin bhai.. to each his/her own PREFERENCES…
dude, you made a very valid point and all the intellects are getting worked up… LOL!! how the fuck an article singing praise abt salman ?? you had them cringing like salman had all of us watching one of his mad caper
Give credit where its due !! the producer is happy and so are the masses.. I personally have see salman hysteria when half of bhopal town had their hair styled like salman’s in tere naam and all the auto rickshaws has his pic painted on them. it may not suit your intellect , but there is a whole population ready to lap it up and that is whr produces recover their money from.
enjoyed reading. wish you could have gone deeper into the ‘phenomenon’. what was really tragicomic was the response to your article. typical pfc response. what a shame.
Jha- while there’s nothing wrong to write about Salman ( after all he’s part of the trimurti- SRK,Aamir & Salman) its kind of very clear that atleast among the thinking audience he’s completely slipped away.It obviously has to do with the kind of movies he’s done of late.As you’ve mentioned yourself, he doesnt really have a USP on his own except his looks.Even that is now questionable- see his recent movies like GOd Tussi Great Ho & Yuvvraj where he looked jaded.
All said and done traditionally the fans of Salman stil exist.I can divide the fans of the 3 Khans into various categories-
Movies like Saawan & Marigold are the height of absurdity.I have no hope from his Veer & btw apparently the latest news on him is that he’s signed a Anees Bazme comedy which has a budget of 100 crores
1. Aamir- typically his fans are the college crowd & the slightly more trendy upmarket crowd.
Decent % abroad and the rest mainly in urban India.
2. SRK- kids love him, families like him and he’s the most popular star abroad ( with Akshay a close 2nd).
3. Salman- Sallu miya’s fans are in the hinterland- be it in the North or even in places like Hyderabad- he rocks.Also he has had a steady stream of loyalists among the females primarily due to looks.
So given a decent subject & treatment Salman can still pull it off.But till then its tough to say anything else!!!!
Its not possible for any star to survive just on fans alone. Now if you take the average audiences for any movie, only 10-20% of them will be hardcore fans, the kind who will see their favorite stars movie, come what may. The rest 80-90% are not fans of any star, they just come to see how the movie is.
The reason why Aamir and SRK are still succesful, is that they manage to still pull in the remaining 80-90% also. Salman is not managing to do that in recent times, so that explains why all his recent movies have been disasters.
@ Renish: thanks a lot dude, for understanding the thought behind the article.
its difficult to understand the point of the article at the first instance, but those who will read it carefully will realise my POV on the issue.
i wrote exactly coz I hv seen ppl going mad with his looks and mannerisms during his hey days. im not denying that somehwere he has lost tht touch with the masses now.
@ RK: thanks. ur comment suggests u did not scoff at the write-up immediately upon reading its title, but decided to look at its own merit.
@ Vinay: bro, u made me happy and then made me sad as well, with a single comment. u enjoyed the article and wished i had gone deeper into the ‘phenomenon’ is very heartening and welcome.
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however, to brand the resultant comments as ‘typical’ PFC is uncalled for. seems u have chanced upon only the argumentative posts, and not on the numerous posts / comments which enlighten all concerned abt the virtues of quality in filmmaking, and ‘good cinema’ in general.
@ Sethu: agree with u. i never claimed salman to bethe best, though i hv maintained that all the three Khans have had their fair share of hits / superhits and misses.
lately, yes, salman has not been able to recreate the magic, butths becoz he started taking his audience for granted. u cant survive like that in any field.
@ Ratnakar: there is a sense of recklessness in anything that salman does in life. thats how he is, highly impulsive, but extremely loyal.
tht loyalty was shown by his fans as well, i what wud b one of the few aberrations to the way the fans behave for their ’star’. but then, as i hv said in my earlier comment as well, salman has started taking his own fans for granted now.
some might term it as arrogance or over-confidence, but mayb he never cared as to what others thought or said abt him.
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he caters to a different set of audience altogether. they r either screaming females, or the hanging-out-in-front-of-college-commenting-on-girls guys. and they haveremained faithful to him, coz he has given the a reason to celebrate every now n then.
Yaar Satyen, i dont have issues with his overconfidence or arrogance or whatever. People dont have issues with how u are, as long as ur doing well.
Its like the Ozzie cricket team, people tolerated their quite often boorish behavior, as long as they were on top, and when they slipped a bit, they started saying it was their arrogance responsible for the downfall.
Regarding female fans, yeah i had some female friends of mine, who were big time fans on him, and i delighted in taking pangas with em, he, he.
Of course once i got pissed when was talking about Johnny Depp, with some friends, and one such fan asked “but is he more popular than Salman Khan?”. Arggggh, felt like almost hitting her on the head then and there.
@Satyendra: i always give credit where its dues. sallu was fabulous in mpk, hahk, hssh, hddcs. i m not taking anything away from him. in fact, my comment neither spoke of his acting/non-acting capabilities nor demean him.
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i was taking up the reliability of the data presented by u. plz point me to any link tat says god tussi gr8 ho, garv, hello brother, veergati, auzaar etc got money for the producers. these movies were disasters. and u have made his superhero claim based on these movies.
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sallu was a guest/special appearance in baghban, so i did not mention tat. but in no entry, sawariya, baabul etc he was not in special/guest appearance. he needs good directors as badly as producers need him. its bloody mutual. he was not doing a favor to ravi chopra or sanjay leela bhansal by acting in their movies.
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i have countered ur post on grounds of zero research and unreliable data, plz read tat carefully again.
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in the last 5 yrs, except dus ka dam nothing has worked.
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if he has been reckless in his private life, i m not concerned abt tat; i as a movie viewer will not watch a crap movie bcos it has to earn bucks for him. trash begets trash, he did not learn even through hello brother.
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finally, plz dont take this personally. i m an ardent fan of sallu as well. but i wont go abt spreading misinformation tat janam samjha karo and ye hai jalwa were block-busters or they earned money for the producers. they were crap movies which did not do well at all.
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he has tremendous screen presence, so wats he doing with it…trying to promote his brothers in inane movies.
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all 3 khans started together, and yet when there was a distributor/multiplex issue then ak and srk were present. while sallu is somewhere sulking abt his ‘deer hunting’ case in rajasthan or his ‘landcruiser trampling ppl’ or his alleged involvement with underworld in making of movie chori chori chupke chupke or his 42 calls to vivek
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if u had written abt these things then it wud have been a balanced article.
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he has not done justice with his own talent, tats sad. but plz don elevate him and put him on a pedestal that he does not deserve.
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finally, keep writing coz u write well
@ Ratnakar: yeah, thts the proper analogy u hv drawn w.r.t. the aussie cricket team.
re: ur female frnds being SO obsessed with salman, im sure that was a phase they must hv passed thru already.
johny depp being LESS popular than sallu, LOL, dont think i can comment on that.
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the fact of someone being more popular than the other is a purely subjective / personal issue. for majority outside India, SRK is the most famous personality from ‘bollywood’, but again, are not the majority of those ‘majority’ NRIs, whi are, effectively, Indians?
i think as a global face of Indian cinema, no one can compete with AB, or raj Kapoor in Russia, or our very own STAR rajni in japan.
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there was a time whn Mithun-da was extremely popular in russia, apart from raj kapoor. who decides their preferences? thts a phenomenon salman has been able to achieve in his own way in India. but no one claims he is a universally ‘acclaimed’ actor / star even in pan-India.
@Satyendra: The ‘real superstar’? Really?
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I agree with the points that chalk out his popularity. But I seriously doubt if Veergati, Auzaar, Jaanam Samjha Karo, Hello Brother, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Chal Mere Bhai, Garv: Pride & Honour, Phir Milenge, and Lucky were ‘commercially succesful’.
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About working with ‘lesser known’ directors. Honestly, his earlier hits, most of them, were mere flukes. I dont think he had any clue what kind of work he was doing. I still dont think he does. Sawan Kumar had given hits before Salman too. Rajshri was a very very well established banner before MPK too. Nadiya ke paar was amongst the biggest hits of its times.
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About his screen presence, I seriously doubt it. I dont know if it’s there at all. But then again, it’s my personal opinion. To each his own.
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Salman’s films usually had popular music. I disagree that it was ordinary. Judwaa, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Partner, Tere Naam, HAHK, Saajan, Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya, Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, MPK.. There are umpteen examples. In fact, many of these films opened well only because of the music.
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I hardly consider him an actor, but i accept his stardom. But you know what? I really really dont know what has he done to deserve it. I guess its just the luck factor! He’s not talented, not intelligent and not done anything exceptional that untalented and unintelligent people in the past have done to gain success. He is a case study really. He’s still not learnt acting after 20 years in films and look at the bloody popularity!! Are we insane or what?? :D
simply suprb…
@ Arati
Garv was a hit, did well in the interiors, thats where Sallu’s movies do well also. But as a movie it was utter rubbish.
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The fact is even the interior and hinterland crowd are getting bored of Sallu’s movies. And as you say, he is learning nothing from it, if one goes by the promos of his latest movie Veer.
@ Arti: i think u r more or less echoingthe sentimentsthat i hv reflected upon in the write-up. i never proposed salman to be an actor. he is a superstar for very mysterious reasons. but thts a fact, and we more or less accept it.
most of his movies were hits, even though they dint run for a long duration in the major centres. there were two reasons to that; one, the movies had a low cost of production, and was sold at reasonable prices, so producer & distributor both got their investment back. the public was the sufferer for enduring suchc rubbish stuff. two, he had that typical ‘mithun-phenomenon’ where his movies wud b lapped up in the interiors, where mass entertainment still rules, rather than the sensibilities.
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salman’s movies never had iconic music. they were at best ’seasonal’ hits, forgotten as soon as the movies went out of theatres.
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re: ur take on his initial movies being flukes, lets not get into that, else more than half the industry wud have to get defensive.
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agreed rajshree was a big production house, and agreed Nadiya ke paar was one of the biggest hits of its times, but rajshree had been strugling since then for almost 5-6 years, until sooraj barjatya came up with MPK and gave a new lease of life to the dwindling fortunes of barjatyas.
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what makes salman tick despite not having learnt acting for almost 20 years is what im trying to pinpoint by this post. its simple charisma that has brought him so far. but i agree, maybe no further.
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let me make a confession once n for all, i hv not watched a salman movie since no entry, and honestly, i didnt watch it for salman, to begin with.
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my point is, give the devil the credit, where it is due. im not playing the devil’s advocate here at all, just stating something thats a fact, but is being brushed under the carpet, since it may not suit our sensibilities.
@Ratnakar and Satyendra: Yes, points taken. But just about the music, I never said it was iconic. I said it was ‘popular’. Yes, you could say it’s ’seasonal’ . But yes, his popularity is like Paris Hilton’s. Mysterious!
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@Satyendra: Just curious. Why the term “real Superstar”? I mean, who are the false ones?
I have seen many people here commenting on Salman’s limited acting talents. But the thing is, in this industry only serious roles are considered as good acting exhibitions. If the theme is serious, the guy is keeping a straight face (doing nothing)…then he is said to be conveying a lot through his eyes…(which I bet comes as a news to him too after the movie releases)
I am not saying that Salman Khan is the best actor there is. But there is a subtle intelligence in his acting which very few so called ‘intellectuals’ identify, but the common man identifies it and adores it. Some people call Tere Naam his best work. Sorry, I dont agree. People just enjoy watching an actor screaming and shedding tears aggressively, throwing stuff and if there is nothing around, throwing himself here and there. His best works are his light hearted movies. You say the guy cant act…….JUST WATCH JAANEMAN. WATCH THE SCENE WHEN HE REALIZES THAT HE IS A FATHER. WATCH THE MOMENT WHEN HIS CHILD TOUCHES HIM…JUST WATCH THE SAU DARD HAIN SONG DAMMIT. Watch Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya…can any actor do what he has done in the movie, the way he bends down on his knees in front of arbaaz…the way he carries of the scene in which he cooks food for the entire family…Watch Heroes…no overacting…just ten minutes of being a natural on screen. Watch Hum Saath Hain…when he hugs Sonali on the elephant ride… such insignificant moments in every film of his, which he makes them his own. Even Yuvvraaj (a movie which I sincerely disliked), see him when Anil Kapoor goes and stand near Katrina and asks him to click a picture. Watch Ek Ladka Ek Ladki…watch jab Pyar Kisi se hota hai….watch him with aditya narayan. Watch Andaz Apna Apna, in which he underplayed himself tremendously and became the perfect loser, the perfect sidekick, which made Aamir’s work appear better. Watch KKHH, where he steals the thunder from SRK in the climax. Watch Sirf Tum, just his 2 min are enough to prove his in born talent. Watch Veergati for intense acting. Watch Yeh Hai Jalwa…his most under-rated comedy. Watch Kyonki, when he runs away from the mad house to buy candles for a mate. Watch Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, when he calls SRK a CHICHORA…
IN EVERY MOVIE OF HIS THERE ARE MOMENTS WHEN ANY OTHER ACTOR WOULD ADD NOTHING TO THE SCENE. BUT HE ADDS TO HIS FILMS.
As far as his special appearances are concerned…watch No Entry…watch him confuse Lara and Celina as Anil and Fardeen watch on.
I agree that when he goes over the top in many movies and screeches and squeals…he looks horrible. But I will give that credit to David Dhawan…
Hope I find someone who will find favour with my views…I dont care if I am ridiculed for this, but I believe that he is a great actor. You may make fun of me, I dont care…like when people make fun of him, he doesnt care….
And as far as his star power is concerned…. he is having a bit of a slump but
1. His special appearances Hello and Heroes did a first week business of 11-12 crores nett. Akshay Kumar’s Tasveer (Solo release) has done a business of 7.5 crores nett in the first week (On a huge print count)
2. His outdated GTGH released with minimal promotion, clashed with a youthful film Bachna Ae Haseeno and a one week old monster Singh is King (I wonder why) and still managed 3.5 crore first week business from Mumbai only (all India11-12 crores nett)
3. The only real Setback was Yuvvraaj which did a 13 crore first week (and on the 6th day of its release the Mumbai terrorist attacks happened)…still it ended at about 17 crore nett…which is poor…
4. His Partner was a blockbuster in 2007 (which is not epochs away). It grossed more (63 crore nett)than much magnified hits Bhool Bhulaiya(45), Hey Baby(55), Namastely London(38).
5. His Dus Ka Dum was the highest TRP show amongst all the game shows.
6. Saawariya, which is labelled his flop, which actually was a special appearance (12 min). It is counted as his flop but then no credit is given to him that Saawariya had a 80-90 percent opening weekend despite clashing with OSO (’The biggest film’ )
@ Arati: well, many…to answer ur last query. though no one has officially coined the term, there have been many self proclaimed superstars from time to time. seasonal they may have been, nevertheless claim they did… vinod khanna, shatrughan sinha, akshay kumar to name a few.
if u go down south, almost every actor has a prefix attached singing praises about his/her star-status. who has how much clout on the BO is anybody’s guess.
the title didnt hv any specific meaning to it. i just wanted to clarify that unlike many, salman has been able to sell movies on his mere name. and thts a ‘real’ superstar.
today, rajni is the biggest superstar of India, IO.
typo error, i meant IMO.
Jha- from your list of Salman hits the following definitely are flops- Veergati,Auzaar, Jaanam Samjha Karo, Hello Brother, Chal Mere Bhai,Phir Milenge.
Out of the movies mentioned above in # 41, Jaanam Samjha Karo had good music nothing else,Hello Brother- again decent music – pathetic comedy and actually a remake of a Mallu movie, Phir Milenge- atleast critically acclaimed to an extent.CMB & Auzaar- nothing much to say.
Of course while in college- I remember dancing during some inter collegiate contest to a fusion-
Macarena + Macarena copy from Auzaar- are baba are baba kare kya deewana
Gosh Jaanam Samjha Karo and Hello Brother were the pits.
And another real stinker was Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye.
good post..I agree with you.. I realized his star power when in 2004 he made a film like Garv into a superhit. A film like Garv would have worked in the 80s or even early 90s..it would have never worked now..Thats why he is a genuine superstar!
No one is talking about acting prowess here.
I guess most viewers did not understand Satyendra’s point –> there is no other SUPERSTAR in recent times that has given such shitty movies, does bad acting, bad role choices, bad life choices, does not use the brain to market himself much and yet continues to be a SUPERSTAR. Seems like he can continue to pull audiences who “knowingly” go in to be tortured just because it is still a “sallu” film yaar!
Firstly I completely agree with this article… Salman is immensely popular, much bigger than what SRK and AK can command if they ever had a list of movies similar to what salman has..
Now very briefly to touch upon things, in a brief manner, I don’t know where is that fight between AK and his fans and SRK and his fans… and then a comment on SalK … all 3 of them are popular cuz all 3 of them are seen together.. they dominated the industry cuz one of them was always in lime light keeping the other 2 in public memories… if it weren’t for them being in THREE, there would ve been no article of these kinds… and its very strongly within these 3, cuz they started out together, were fresh faces, made their debuts close to each other, brought in a fresh lease of life to Indian cinema and then charted an new way in a new field, SRK brought in the new wave of expressions, at a time where actors were stil aping the deadpan expressions and holding the gun in left hand (a la bachchan) … AK started branching out to “thought based characters” and stayed away from media …. and Sallu covered the looks… the body … the “sin of self indulging and the pleasures of the same…” mark my last set of words, I shall come back to the same….
Now all 3 of them could afford the same, cuz there was always the other 2 who were there to bail them out… imagine if it wasnt for SRK and SalK, Aamir would have had to choose either Atul Kulkarni way or would have stuck to the masala movie way … these guys always had each other …. though media understood the same, they tried over playing, trying to call saif the “4th Khan” calling fardeen zayed and a lot of others like even one film old Imran as a part of the “Khan-daan” however, what nobody is pointing out is that these 3 were never a part of the usual “KHAN” associate.. the 3 of them knowigly or unknowingly made “KHAN” as a brand, together and only for them ….
Here come the euphoria part and all this as “KHANS”…
SRK took care of all .. acting PR good life society loyal husband, funny, caring .. basically whatever you expect of a successful man to do in society..
AK … took the role of the intelligent, thinking, social issues, dare to say no, staying away from media, exclusivity, stick to his guns…..
together the 2 covered what people generally look in person or admire or want to be or have a life like….
SALMAN covered the other side… the part that people are deep in but cover up in the AK SRK merits… Salman was the self indulgence.. the pumped up body, women, my bros, my drinks, i care 2fks abt media, my directors, my movies, my way, i wanna act then i will or else i will zombie thru, my brother, my bracelet, my hairstyle, my sunglasses… whatever be it… he was the “I me Myself”… and this is what drove people mad behind him …. Salman is the only one amongst all 3 of them to be equally popular amongst a hep college going person, to an uncle to an auto driver and street side vendors.. they feel him representing that pain side of them/ the way they would like things to be effortless, how “women/people used him” … the way “oops.. shit happens” (I support none of the mentioned above) nobody wanted a Salman Khan life but they already had it somewhere, the connect was made… plus it was like even with this shit, i am the most handsome amongst the 3, I still do charity, i help cancer patients old ladies, former friends… Salman was a mini rebel …. he was the leading face for “my agony my happiness”…. and it just connected…. and if you see the euphoria, its been strongly on in the last 10 years, where in he has been giving miserable films, miserable PR activities, Miserable public image.. before that he was somebody who was seen to be slowly drfiting the wrong side…
Its completely sense to say nobody garners the attention the way salman does, in one line … in public eyes SRK needs to be properly attired in a armani or a gucci, AK needs to hold himself prim proper and sound intelligent, Salman… can be anything.. wear any crap, sarong, yellow pants, red pants.. nothing .. doesnt matter, he will be accepted either ways….
So any comments like AK and SRK will leave him trails behind in future .. not happening… rather all 3 of them cannot leave each other… one goes up, the other gets pulled automatically… even if one guy’s amrket share goes up, he puls up the other one’s as well… and thats why they are successful in a each one his own way kinds… thats why Akshay Kumar after 3 continuous flops after 3 years of hits is suddenly vulenrable while Salman after 3 years of movies that noone even realised were relased, still commands high … thats why Akshay cannot do a one film one time kind of positioning like Aamir, neither can he dish out the same kind of movie over n over again and still be a darling like SRK…
And it is that the 3 of them … will need each other and will live amongst each other … that in the last 6 years, 3 years were spent hailing Ajay Devgan as the biggest threat to SRK and then 3 were spent positioning Akshay as the same … while Saif was thrown into the “junior” in Khan (automatically chopra johar) camp….
As a brand recall value it was always the SRK-AK-SalK together… and thats why… the advertisments, shows, brands movies… they all will have each of them offered the world of the other one took a moolah ….
And yeah … if it wasn’t for the 3 of them together … we would have never had so many articles on any of them … Salman for his flops might have been like another Aftab, Sunil Shetty, Dino Morea, or that club … Aamir would have been amongst Shabna Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Naseeruddin Shah, Om puri, Atul Kulkarni …. SRK .. he knows his moves…. but alone might have been fighting the same battls as any other actor … 2 flops means career almost over, repetitive crap… might have been a “had been” .. might have had to seriosuly consider Ajay Devgan 3 years back and Akshay Kumar now as threat… (come to think of it, in 6 years, these guys might have eaten him up)….
Just to add in … (as if i havent done it yet…) Salman remains the only actor whose fan base spreads right from we fans of Sunny Deol, Mithun, Jackie Shroff, and Chunky Pandey (he is a superstar in Bangladesh) the local dhaba food, chai wala movies, to those who are fans of new age movies like Aamir, A Wednesday (we call it as a guilt pleasure or their part time escape into masala movies) the new small local Ice cream parlor moviesand we who see Aamir SRK’s 5 star a-la carte movies, apart from the hollywood and the Amitabh bachchan’s speciality movies…. Salman, somehow fits in every menu… Success count.. anybody….
Wow, I started reading this article in some amazement, frankly, because places like PFC seldom acknowledge someone like Salman. Heck, there were plenty of objections when an article appeared last year that people must be grateful to stars like SRK and directors like Karan Johar because the success of their “commercial” movies is what allows for less commercial films to be made.
But as I read the amount of disclaimers both in the articles and the comments, first I was overcome by fatigue at the usual “intellectual” posturing, and then angered by amount of unwarranted negativity. I have to ask, what are you all afraid of, to acknowledge someone like Salman as a success? According to the commenters here, he can’t act, his films are the pits, their music is worthless, he is not even good looking, but has managed to be at the top of the industry for 20 years merely by fluke! Some fluke!
But I think this bashing of Salman and his films is symptomatic of something that has troubled me about PFC ever since I started reading it, almost from the time it began. Why is it that almost 90% of the posts here deride everything that makes Indian films unique in world cinema, and pant slavishly over “meaningful” cinema from elsewhere? When people regularly dismiss Indian cinema as useless because of the songs and dances, or the multiple emotional tones, I have to question whether they even understand what Indian cinema is about, or the culture it arises from.
And that really, I think, is why so many people here can’t understand the phenomenon of Salman Khan. The biggest reason why his fan base is loyal to him is not his looks or screen presence (though they play a part), it is because he has consistently delivered films with “Indian” values — the values of family ties, acceptance of all religions, respect for women, and “clean” (as far as sex goes) entertainment. You think Partner was a mindless comedy? Yes, but embedded within it, subtly and almost subliminally, was a strong argument for loving a woman who was previously married and with a child. Ravi Chopra made a whole movie about widow remarriage (Baabul) and botched it so badly that whatever message it was ended to convey was completely lost. But in Partner, the mere fact that the hero is in love with a divorced woman and actively pursues her without any reservations, shatters the usual ideal of the “virginal” heroine, all without making one allusion to that issue. When Salman’s character makes his promise to be “like a lover in the bedroom, like a chef in the kitchen, etc.” how many of you realized that he was giving a gender reversed description of the ideal wife as given in the Manusmriti? Similarly, at the end, when he claims to be a “patnivrata pati”, how many of you recognized that again he was establishing a gender reversed ideal to the “pativrata” concept? Isn’t this a lot more revolutionary than Karan Johar’s K3G, or Aditya Chopra’s DDLJ, where women dutifully intone the “pati parameswar” value system?
But perhaps you feel all that sort of thing is too old fashioned, too “uncool” to bother with, in these days with films like Salaam Namaste and the more “bold” non-commercial films? That is exactly why you won’t understand what makes Salman the star he is. These are the terms that the majority of the Indian audience understand, and which communicate to them and will get them to rethink some of their assumptions, without overtly challenging them or threatening them in any way.
Salman is big in the hinterlands? Yes, and that is why he is important. He is almost the only star of any stature left who caters to their tastes, and who represents their values. It used to be Sunny Deol, Salman, and Akshay Kumar who were called the “stars of the masses.” Now Sunny is pretty much off the radar, and Akshay has taken to gratuitous injection of Hollywood “stars” in his films to make them succeed. Only Salman is still fiercely protecting the value system he believes in, and serving the audience that has followed him for so many years. What some of you see as stagnation, I see as commitment to his brand of cinema.
Among the top three Khans, SRK is catering exclusively to the NRI population, and those who wish they were NRI’s. Aamir makes very interesting films (I think the most interesting of anyone in commercial films), but most of his “innovative” films are merely imitations of what has already been done elsewhere, and sometimes done to death. As much as I enjoyed TZP, for example, I was aware all the time that it was at best an average TV “movie of the week” that has been seen on American television for more than 20 years. Even Lagaan, while a very well constructed film, is a genre of film that had been a staple in Hollywood for more than 25 years. They might have been the first of their kind in Hindi films, but hardly pathbreaking in world cinema.
Just one last comment, about Salman’s “special appearances.” Saawariya was a Salman film and not a guest role? He was barely in the film for five minutes! If you insist on classifying that as “his” film, why, then, you are implicitly acknowledging his enormous screen presence and star presence! ;) As for Baabul, I still remember a chat that Ravi Chopra did at Rediff shortly before its release. Almost 90% of the questions were to the effect of, “How long is Salman in the film for? Is it another special appearance like Baghban, or a full fledged role?” Over and over again, Ravi Chopra kept assuring the readers that “Salman has a full role in the film. He is in the film from the first frame to the last.” What makes it funny is that for the purposes of the story, the character played by Salman should not have been there for more than 10 or 15 minutes. In fact, as much as I like Salman, I thought having him on screen for 50% of the time seriously distorted the film’s balance and story focus. As for No Entry, Salman’s role was a special appearance, as acknowledge by its makers themselves. But, also as acknowledged by its producer Boney Kapoor and its lead Anil Kapoor, without Salman, the film would not have become the superhit that it became. So it seems his peers within the industry understand his impact and value well enough. In any case, some months ago, Salman announced that he would no longer do special appearances for friends, as he feels that is unfair to his fans to have the films marketed under his name, as if he has a leading role, when he is there for only a few minutes.
In an article I read a few years ago, distributors described Salman as the “most bankable star in India”, because he appeals to audiences in all sections — metros, interiors, north, south, east, and west in India, and overseas — and his films work in whatever genre they happen to be in. His films may not all be blockbusters, or even clean hits, but they are all at least commission earners, meaning that the distributor still makes a profit. Of course there have been some which were flops, but the true flops, in a monetary sense are a lot fewer than those perceived as flops, merely because they didn’t become big hits. Since tha time that article appeared, the multiplex phenomenon has really taken off in India, and introduced its own distortions into the market. It is in this area where Salman is not doing as well as other stars. The really interesting question to my mind is whether he will manage to overcome this challenge in the coming days and years. Already there is a stark division between “multiplex films” and “single screen films”, where what succeeds in one market segment failing signally in the other. If the multiplex culture displaces someone like Salman, as it has someone like Sunny Deol, then it will confirm for me that it has lost touch with the roots of Indian culture. And if that happens, and the future of Hindi films is a multiplex one where there is no place for someone like Salman, then I think it is Hindi cinema that will be the loser.
PS, your comments appeared while I was typing mine — I completely agree what you say. I think you especially make a great point about the combined effect of all three Khans — Salman, Aamir, and SRK.
Sorry, I completely agree “with” what you say.
sm,PS- both of you have made some good observations.Refer whatever I’ve written earlier- haven’t got into a rhetoric but definitely acknowledged that Salman is an essential part of the trio of Khans.And yes if I have gone on to explain his reach among his fans,I’ve also made it a point to show why he’s been slipping off late.And what I’ve mentioned in this regard is only with reference to the movie’s he’s done of late.I’ve not even got into personal details- becuase that would be fairly unfair over here.
Yes I’m the one who mentioned he’s big in the hinterland- but I did not mean it to make a mockery of him.For that matter let me tell of you that I still do go & watch a God Tussi Great Ho on the first day of its release- hoping that he’ll finally deliver.So its not like everybody here is to bash up Salman.Let his movies now talk for him & I’m sure there will be no debate then.
Gosh and another post degenerates into PFC bashing, NRI bashing, and gyaan about Indian culture.
To all those who feel PFC is biased or whatever, take this.
* For starers, there are dime a dozen web sites and tabloids which have every minute detail of Salman Khan, or for that matter every star’s life. There are fan clubs, for them. AND NOW I ASK WHY SHOULD PFC BE ONE OF THOSE?
* There are umpteen sites out there dealing with the Khans, Akshay, Hrithik, but how many are there that showcase an Atul Kulkarni or Pankaj Kapoor? Is it wrong to be biased towards actors or directors who do not get due coverage in a glamor obsessed mainstream media? Salman Khan does not need PFC, because tomorrow when his latest flick releases, you will have all the TV channels clamoring for his coverage, however rubbish that flick may be. How many TV channels, will give coverage to a Dor or a Barah Anna or a Blue Umbrella? YES WE ARE BIASED, BECAUSE THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAS LONG STOPPED PROMOTING CINEMA, THEY ONLY PROMOTE STARS. Yes we are totally biased in favor of the underdog. You dont like it, fine, but this is what our ideology is, and we r not gonna change it one bit.
* I WANNA ASK IS IT A CRIME TO DEMAND “MEANINGFUL” CINEMA? IS IT A SIN TO BE “INTELLIGENT”? IS BEING “INTELLECTUAL” SOMETHING TO BE SNEERED AT? Yes i am also fed up of the fact, that whenever i demand we make better cinema, i have to listen to gyaan on Indian culture and context. Why this kind of Ram Sene-Taliban approach to those who dont agree with your view point.
Sorry for the long ranting guys,but i am mightily pissed off at the way movie discussions are being hijacked to show off king sized egoes.
As many can see, PFC simply provides a platform to the cine lovers to share their views on cinema and people associated with cinema. It’s neither in favour of few specific films, film makers nor against any kind of cinema and film makers.
People should enjoy their kind of articles as people enjoy their kind of films.
An article on Salman Khan gives opportunity to his admirers/fans to point out good things about his films, his performances etc and it gives opportunity to other people also to pay attention to many things which they would othewise reject because they may think it is below their standard.
Salman is a face of commercial cinema and he has been in film Industry since last 20 years or so. In such a long time He might have given good and weak films else it is not possible for anyone to be in show business and that too in the roles of a hero. One can remain active in character roles but to be a hero for so many years one needs some appeal.
If he is still in demand then there can be a hope that he becomes more sensible in selecting his films and gives good performances so that people remember him as a good actor also apart from being a popular star.
He may be an actor of limited range but that does not take away credit from him whenever he has acted suitably well within the demands of the character e.g. Prem in HAHK.
He managed to carry his first ever TV show.
Like any other human being he must also be exploring his personal talent/s. Recently He is seen exhibiting his paintings. That shows he is doing something for him, something for his own appeasement, satisfaction.
It is sensible on a public forum to treat other people in a proper way. It is never possible that PFC like open platform plays completely like a fan club or a critic club. Both sides of views are gathered here. It provides a good platform to present a proper and analytical approach on any subject.
use it properly and it will bring quality.
@ Ratnakar
you are completely right in your own right and i agree with you. But what we cannot do is demand that everyone like the same kind of cinema. Everyone has a unique taste and thats what makes cinema cinema, catering to so many tastes, even a very internal film made by lets say, Anurag Kashyap is a response to his own taste, and there are people who love that, like most on PFC, then there is the David Dhawans who work according to their sensibility and there are people who want that–and then their is everything and everyone in between. What seems intelligent to you or you and me can mean bullshit to someone else and vice versa.
I also disagree that mainstream media has stopped promoting good films and only promote stars. For and example A Wednesday was heavily promoted by the media. But you are right, they do not do merely enough. but i think instead of coming here and sneering about it the people amongst who are capable should actually go into the mainstream and promote the good films for only then can they get the kind of mass appreciation that they deserve. Sitting here and discussing it amongst people who already agree is not productive.
Ayush@ 57-
even I agree with your point that each one likes his/her own kind of cinema.So if someone likes a firaaq, someone else may like a Raaz-2.thats perfectly fine.Ideally one must never put down anyone liking either a Raaz-2 or a firaaq.But yes the concern here is more for a Firaaq than a Raaz-2 because as Ratnakar pointed out the smaller movies do not get much notice otherwise.Regarding A Wednesday, I beg to differ from you mainly because first of all it was a UTV movie & so had a good platform to make use of.But inspite of I firmly believe that A Wednesday succeeded inspite of its publicity and not because of its publicity.
@ sethumadhavan
i guess you are right about A Wednesday, i do not have in depth knowledge about that. The point i am trying to make is that we cannot bring the deserved recognition to these small budget films with lesser known names by fighting against the mainstream or pointing out its flaws, instead we need to GO INTO the mainstream, make this kind of cinema THE mainstream, or definitely a part of it. And i am sure many people here on PFC are capable of doing that being journalists and film makers and what not, and they should. i am just a student for now. Just a thought.
Yaar Ayush, i have nothing against mainstream cinema, nor am i demanding that people here should like only one kind of movie. I mean that is next to impossible. Even in “meaningful” cinema, there is no convergence on what exactly constitutes it. For me Cast Away is one of my favorite movies, there are many who feel its pretentious.
What i have an issue against is with this kind of labelling. You dont like Salman or Himesh, you are “snobbish”, “elitist”. You dont like Kareena, you are “pseudo”. And thats what i wanna ask WHY, is it not possible for a person to see a movie he or she likes without being labelled. Is it impossible for me to enjoy both a Dulhe Raja and a Satya? I dont have any issues with people who wanna enjoy Salman’s movies on screen, matter of fact, i did watch many of his movies too. But somehow i hate a vast majority of his movies, not because i am snobbish, or elitist. Just find those movies plain boring, and no i find most of the Yash Raj stuff also plain boring. Thats it, why bring in issues of elitism, Indian culture and all such which have no context in this regard.
Well said,
but salman should wake up before it is too late
1. he should work with aamir khan and remain in his company.that will make him professionally a better person.Everybody knows he has apart from kindness, a golden heart and he is the best of the 3 khans when it comes to associations.
2. he should experiment in macho crime thrillers the kind of stuff jean claude van damme did , i feel it will suit him and his image
3.Comedy is his forte.But he is getting repetitive
4.The only directors who bring the best out of him are sooraj barjatya , sanjay bhansali and david dhawan
5.Wanted by Prabhudeva is a sure firehit.I have heard the tapori song of salman with ayesha takia
in this film.It is going to be the charttopper of 2009
6.Audiences are waiting desperately for a family sweet romantic movie .He should may be try movies of 2 hero projects.I am sure the audience would love the following combos in a romantic triangle.
salman and arjun rampal
salman and bobby deol
salman and saif ali khan
Just like you can like a movie or not like a movie regardless of your personal politics, you can like an actor or not like him without public apology.
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Based only on observation and no inside information, I suspect Salman as an actor mostly “feels” his parts versus analyzing and emoting them in conscious steps. Sometimes that makes him larger than life, like a few moments in Jaan-E-Mann, and sometimes it looks unrehearsed. It’s probably no more or less odds-on successful than other methods.
@ Ratnakar,
ok, well in that case i fully get your point and agree with you.
gosh, so much water has flown under the bridge during the weekend, especially on this post, when i was consciously away from internet.
some of the responses have been quite long and rhetoric, and also, stating the obvious.
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the objective of this post was never to bring a comparative angle among the Khans or other stars. it was definitely not to malign the achievements of others, and it was definitely not with an intention to propogate Salman over others.
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some of the comments here suggest whether such an article should appear on a platform like PFC. well, its the yang to the yin that PFC is generally known for. without one,the other cant survive. at the same time, some else has suggested that PFC should be a platform for those ventures, which need such voluntary propogation, rather than the likes of Salman Khan, who can ellicit a response from the dead even if they decide to sneeze in public.
Agreed, but then, the creative liberty of the writer can not be bound for the trodden path at all times, and there are occassions when an idea abt the unusual (by the normal PFC standards), comes to mind.
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salman is nothing but a guilty pleasure for me, and for those who feel I am trying to propogate him, plz go thru my other articles on PFC. this is the first time i hv myself ventured into anything / anyone SO COMMERCIAL…
First of all…..if the author likes to put Salman & Akshay on the same platform/level as Amitabh, Aamir & SRK as Superstars, i would say that the definition or image of a Superstar has changed with time. Maybe for the author, superstardom = popularity. In that case, maybe this holds true.But for me, A Superstar is a phenomenon that brings so many changes in so many aspects related to Cinema right from the image of the main protagonist to the way it is written to the promotion to the way the product gets accepted by the viewers etc etc…..What else could justify remembering a superstar years after he has even passed away? If he hasnt made any chnage to the craft or scale, what is the point? How else is Hitchcock different from David Dhawan?
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We all know how the likes of Dileep Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna had started having this kind of impact on Cinema. The same had been taken ahead tremendously by our own Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, the biggest Superstar of all times. No-one can even imagine the way everything revolved around him for a long long time when he was at full throttle & even now people have the same respect, madness & appreciation for his craft though the ways of expressions have mellowed down a bit.
then came the era where a whole new crop of Actors (Very few could later on prove that they are, though) came.
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While few like Aamir & SRK learnt from their mistakes quite early in their career (As the author explains in his article too) & chose their own paths to display their craft, attain satisfaction, lure the audience & gain popularity….the others like Salman continued doing whatever came their way without bothering of the intentions of the kind of Cinema they were getting involved with, their own creative satisfaction or any such long-lasting & true achievements that a craftsman longs for.
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To me, Salman was lucky to come to the industry & extremely lucky to survive for this long. He’s a true destiny’s child. He never did anything that an actor needs to do, never tried to judge & improve himself, never ever tried to think of contributing to the cause of Cinema….he did absolutely nothing that an aspiring or establishing or established actor craves to do….yet he’s popular.
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But that’s it…..He is extremely popular, but in my opinion he’s definitely not & can never be a Superstar. The word holds a different meaning for me. I can’t really degrade it. Whoever has seen the phenomenal contributions of Dileep Kumar,Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan & now Aamir & SRK to the popular Indian cinema would not like to call either Akshay or Salman a Superstar. Akshay, i am still hopeful can improve for he can act & he has proved it in few of his films & he has an amazing screen presence. But Salman, for me is a complete gone case. His success will come & go like that of Rajendra “Jubilee” Kumar but it’ll be Aamir, SRK that will be remembered forever for making Popular Indian Cinema, even more popular in last few years.
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More than half of the films that u have mentioned as Commercial Successes were BIG flops (And sadly were not even appreciated by whoever saw them..Pathetic experiences, that’s what thay were).. Veergati, Auzaar, Jaanam Samjha Karo, Hello Brother, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Chal Mere Bhai, Garv: Pride & Honour, Lucky…Cross check again please & correct.
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Just to give u a perspective of my taste….I myself have liked Salman in Maine Pyar Kiya, Patthar Ke Phool, Love & Andaz Apna Apna.
Abhishek,
you are totally wrong. your exalted opinion about who is a superstar and what he should be like are totally off the mark. It’s no joke to remain in the top bracket without top production houses backing you, without author backed roles, without top rated cast to support you and most importantly without any marketing and media support. Salman has not only survived, He has thrived. He has followed his heart and his fans have backed him with all their heart. I loved Piyush’s comment. People have missed a lot about Salman in Shahrukh and Aamir hoopla and media’s tendency to paint him in only one colour – black.
I Totally agree with what writer says in this article…Salman in past has pulled so many movies on his shoulders….i don’t think any other actor can make movies like bandhan,garv,sanam bewafa a hit….SRK and Amir whenever has failed to deliver in terms of content, their movie has failed…be it mela or mangal pandey or in case of SRK Koyala,phir bhi dil hai hindustani,ashoka etc……but i guess now the audience has matured and want more substance ….salman and akshay needs to handle their superstardom in more mature way…. even hithik has realised this and taking each and every step very carefully….similarly they need to go slow on projects and not do more than 2 movies a year…need to have a quality control in place and ensure that every time their movie is out it should atleat be breezy enough to keep audience enagaged for their running time….I have full faith that both can and atleast akshay can do this as he has more mature head on his shoulder…..still cheers to their raw appeal….
@ Abhishek pandey: sir, ur idea of stardom sems either misplaced, or maybe my write-up was not able to make it clear to you.
please look at the write-up in the light of the fact that salman has given hits when the products have been atrocious, unlike SRK, aamir, who have given hits on the basis of either excellent products or at least a big banner to carry the hoopla.
@ Dhulia; bingo.. that was the essence of the topic…im glad u concur to the concept of this article, rather than follow it verbatim…
@ topaz: your example of the three Khans vis-a-vis their power to carry he movie on their own shoulders is spot-on…
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the intention of the post is not to run down any Khan or any other star, neither it is to put Salman on a high pedestal than others. its just to bring it to perspective that salman has been able to carry a stupid movie on his mass-appeal more than any other star…without any support from virtually any quarters of filmmaking like songs, director, big banner…
Even Salman’s brothers or Dad couldnt have come up with arguments but the truth is that points dont hold water.
Salman might have had huge hits but we cannot recall one movie where he has shined as an actor. You cannot term somebody as a superstar when they cannot guarantee a decent opening. Look at Yuvvraaj. Pathetic figures for the first weekend.
@ Agnostic Indian: if you go thru the comments, u will realise sir, that no one has said salman is able to hold sway like his golden days anymore. no wonder then, than, yuvraaj is just one of the few that have sunk without trace. but then, it had something to do with the director being subbu, who has gone from one pit to the other as far as cinematic quality is concerned.
noone has claimed salman is an ‘actor’ least of all in this article. your claim of salman not having given any openings to his movies is definitely the half-truth.
i once again reiterate that salman has been bale to pull off certain disastrous movies from being a sureshot flop just by being in that movie.
I will once again request everyone to refer to the Piyush’s post. Salman is a talented actor but neither him nor his directors have taken this talent seriously. Except to an extent by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, his directors have failed to delve deeper in his persona or use his expressive face and innocent eyes properly.
He has mostly starred in mediocre products and there has never been a gang of media people across all platforms telling us how good an actor he is. There is always a derogatory tone in whatever media writes about him. A kind of atmosphere has been created where saying that you like Salman, is something downmarket or tasteless thing. But what the heck, I like him.
I dont think you can give him credit for making some unbearable movies profitable. If he has the talent to do that then he should be able to do that for all his movies. But alas he has not been able to do so. Film making is a team effort and the movie might have succeeded because of that. There was a time when movies like “Balwaan” and “Gopi-Kishan” were hits but will that be enough to call Sunil Shetty a superstar. Hell No.
I think SRK has better credentials than Salman. When all the movies made by Yash Raj are turning out to be duds, the only ones that made profit are “Chak De” and “Rab Ne Bana ..”.
The truth is that director is the star of the movie and he has the responsibility to choose the right actors and technicians and if he does a bad job, so Star can rescue the movie.
@ Dhulia
U say that only Bhansali could understand his talent amongst the famous directors…hahaha!!! But unfortunately even he didn’t score a hit in Khamoshi despite of the SUPERSTAR Salman in it. HDDCS worked because of so many reasons that we all know. whoever u like can’t be a Superstar. Its ok to accept that.
Apart from that whose responsibility it is to choose quality directors & films???? And to prove u wrong…SRK gave hits with KJ(A debutante then),Pravesh Mehra (A nobody) & so many like them…And Aamir toh is a Champ in this….Farhan, Geetha Arts (Ghajini),Ashutosh…the list is endless…
We should not give credit to the man when he himself did nothing to achieve it…Its all luck…plain luck..
@Satyendra
My comments or perspective looks misplaced to u…but fortunately we have defined our Superstars by those stds only so far..By ur standards toh we have Rajendra Kumar as our biggest Superstar so far!!! No one else has done it so far!!! 25 Hits!!! Quality does matter dude & will continue too…..
Abhishek,
Who is pravesh mehra yaar? anyway, I said Bhansali gave him good roles. That’s it. That doesn’t mean that the movie has to be a hit. The only point being made here is Salman has carried many mediocre movies on his shoulder and made them successful. Every movie may not be a blockbuster but most of them have been good earners. No ‘mai ka laal’ can guarantee that each and every movie of his will be a hit. Not even your SRK. Look what happened to Badshah( it was a flop)Swades, Paheli, KANK, Don2, Billu despite so much hype and hoopla in the media.
There is no denying the fact that Salman has a tremendous screen presence and a very pleasing, attractive personality. He has a certain magnetism about him which makes people love him and endure bad films as well as shoddy work that he throws in occasionaly.
Only point I agree upon with you is about choosing quality. It is definitely an actor’s responsbility to choose the quality product.
But the point being discussed here, is the success of one man without being stickler for quality. The ability to salvage bad products with sheer star power. That is what most of us are finding amazing and noteworthy.
@ Abhishek: lets us not bring the discussion to a SRK-Salman comparison. one need not necessarily be a star at the exclusion of others. both have their own set of qualities (good/bad) for which they r known…
I think most of us are disagreeing because we all have our own definitions of ’superstar’. Honestly, to me, the term is a marketing tool, that is defined more by journalists than by people like you and me. In the media, we are fed with what a superstar is supposed to be like. They define it for us. They drill it into our heads. For years, they have called Salman a superstar. So it’s also a perception.
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I tend to agree with Abhishek that it is always an actor’s choice whom he works with.. Salman could have chosen to work with better people. He was never asked to work with people who didnt know their stuff, make bad films and then make them work. Although making them work was not in his control. It’s amazing how most of us on this post agree that his hits were bad films but he is a superstar nonetheless. Sadly, that’s the truth.
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I respect your views, Satyendra. You have your own reasons to believe Salman is a superstar. But I beg to differ. Have already made my points so I wont repeat. Superstardom, for me, means many things that Salman is not.
@ Arati: the down-to-earth and precise manner in which u hv put ur views forward has honestly impressed me. we at PFC need not necessarily agree on everything. and we must hv the courage to say NO when we mean it to be NO. else, whats the point in having the comments forum, it cud well be the sycophancy-club.
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superstar is a perception, to each his/her own.
Thanks, Satyendra. Yes, that’s the fun about writing on a blog. To listen to things that others have to say. How long can we keep talking to ourselves?
And yes, it’s only gracious to acept other PoV’s. I think its so much fun!
Whay do people find it so hard to give Salman his due credit? Since media is always out to malign him, undermine his popularity and success and present him as a troublesome guy, it seems to have affected most of you. Media has its own agenda. 90% of the stories, good or bad are rubbish. Anyway, why are people trying so hard to not to let anybody else praise Salman? C’mon guys, give him his due. He is one hugely popular superstar! period.
@Sameer
Thats wht we are discussing here!!! Whts his due?? Isn’t due earned normally??? The thing that we all are brainstorming at is- wht exactly has he done to earn the popularity??? Thts the mystery!!! I agree that he’s hugely popular but can never agree that he’s a SUPERSTAR. Reasons, i have already explained in my earlier comment!!
@ Satyendra,
I dnt have any intentions of bringing it to SRK V/s SK!!! I was just replying to Dhulia that even SRK has done films with lesser known directors, that have been hits!!! Read the conversation again please before reaching to a conclusion!! : )
@Dhulia
Pravesh mehra (Not sure abt the name) is the son of FC Mehra who had directed CHAMATKAAR, which was a hit.
@ Sameer: i concur with Abhishek re: the ‘reason’ of Salman’s immense polularity. deserving or not is a different issue altogether, IMO.
Abhishek @ 83: sir, im not reachin to a conclusion. its just tht the example of SRK seemed a bit forced. i may b wrong, and in tht case, i stand corrected.
salman is a phenomenon, and like most such phenomenon, is unexplainable. but the bottomline is, he is an immensely popular star. though i must admit lately he is losing the “grip”, so to say…
It’s always cool to read comments on PFC, and whn I saw the concerned subject is Salman Khan, culdnt resist the temptation. Superstar is a title labelled on actors by the media. Initially it was only concerned with the success of the films & mass appeal(Rajesh Khanna/Amitabh), but so called superstars are not usually genuine actors. Anyway, I am a follower of Salman not because of his popularity or controversies but bcoz he is a genuine human being who was introduced to us through film medium. Been following him through his ad days & right away was affected by his straight-to-heart appeal. Over the years I felt with time I wuld overcome but as soon his image appears on screen, its deja vu & m back to original sin. Initially it was the looks, but eventually it was the person as a whole who mesmerised. Its very difficult to be surrounded by controversies & still keep a cool. The most affable thing abt sallu is his guy next door approach and the respect he generates to women, elders & all concerned. It may be attitude for some, but he is a no-nonsense person. He is a bad actor bcoz no one culd extract the best out of him except Sooraj Bardjatya.Why compare him with anyone when he made his stance utterly clear abt his views. He accepts films with heart & its success, revenue, costar does not affect him. He is not there to prove anything, he is in entertainment bussiness & he does tht, but the prob is ppl will always mix his personal life into all tht he does onscreen. Whereas others getaway on his expense. Well he aint complaining bcoz hes a man who shoulders responsibility. Why then ppl who mocked him, ridiculed him, had press conferences against him, beg for his forgiveness in public or keep referring to his name on the slightest instance. He never proffessed or promoted himself as a star, but he touches the right chord of everyone-no age, caste, status bar. But if some ppl try to act too smart he deliberately will mock them to show their level. Now one may ask who has given him the right, well the ans is, the same ppl who keep hovering on him for the same. Hits & flops are a part of artist but Sallu surely hits the right chords when it comes to matters of heart & humbleness.
Gosh, some article.
I don’t know whether to agree or disagree..
Imagine you have a kid, a flairful, spoilt kid, bad at studies.. The parents would be happy if he manages a 50% mark in the exam..even if its a just pass..
That’s how the audience response to Sallu can be understood..its the petting which a spoilt child recieves..
You have examples everywhere..Shoaib Akhthar in cricket, Anna kournikova in tennis..Lot of flair, limited talent, inconsistent..
But we always hope that the controversial,flairful people succeed.. bcos.. flair and success is a heady mix..its wonderful to see..
This precisely, I think, is the reason of ppl’s affinity to Salman..
Forgot to mention, its a beautiful write up.. u write very well.. Keep writing..
agreed…he has this frenzy…..but its coz sallu seema to be very honest and a good by heart person….indians are sentimentals….and its not just the performance tht makes them like a star. salmas care free attitude works for him. i have ppl in my family who go gaga ovr sallu just coz they think tht sallu is so pure by heart….he is a good human. they dont really care how well he performs….thy just enjoy his charizma….
whtevr it may be….david dhawan, govinda and sallu type cinema will always work for me…its not always good to use ur brains….
and by the way u come 2 knw in which scene sallu was in mood…if he is in mood he does give a brillaint performance…u can see different shades of sallu and his diverse performance in a single film….lol we like him the wy he is ….no getting psuedo