“Dabangg may not be a great piece of art but the film is set to become one of the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood... . It has grossed Rs 14.5 crore on the first day surpassing 3 Idiots which collected Rs 13 crore on Christmas last year.” If one goes by the television images of his fans being lathi-charged to be dispersed from in front of Galaxy apartments in Bandra (West) on the day of Dabangg release, when the Salman Khan had been engaged in double prayers with his family for both Ganesh Chaturthi and Eid (the family has always celebrated both Muslim and Hindu festivals with the same fervour), his stardom is exceptional. And Galaxy is at a narrow curve on the busy street that leads to Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat.
Dabangg has generally been panned by the critics for its overdose of the star but it “has already collected three times more than Salman Khan’s last big hit, Wanted…which was an Eid release last year had collected Rs 4.62 crore on the first day. Dabangg, the way it is going at the box office, is likely to wind up with Rs 45-48 crore in the opening weekend beating 3 Idiots which collected Rs 41 crore during the same period,” according to a newspaper report quoting a distribution source. The verdict will be out by the time this appears in print (it is still raking in the mullah till the last reports came in). But then that’s not really the issue.
There has to be some rationale behind the illogical magic of the maverick Salman Khan. He has sought to play havoc with his stardom time and again; has refused to learn from law breakings actions that could have caused any ordinary mortal a life-term in jail; has escaped incurring the wrath of the civil society for his open flouting of conventional behaviour, even lusting for the female form. Unlike many other Bollywood stars who have not only reeled under the pressures of successive flops, and even faced extinction, he has managed to rise from the ashes of box office disasters like a colossus, and occupy the throne. Not even Shah Rukh Khan has had that sort of luck. And, frankly, none of these two reigning Khans have ever given a glimpse of their histrionics the third of the trinity, Aamir Khan has repeatedly displayed over the years.
The controversial and brat image that is now a part of his persona is obviously the result of the cult status he has come to occupy in the national youth psyche now, especially amongst the Muslim populace which has not necessarily been the case with any of the other Khans. In the mid-1980s this writer occupied a part of the ground floor apartment where Salman now lives. One often ran into him in the passage ways, or the lawns in front of Waheeda Rahman’s bungalow on an adjoining plot. He then shared the first floor with his family which is still there, and that’s where all the family celebrations still take place. Salim Khan, once part of the enviable Salim-Javed duo, still lives there with his two wives, the Hindu renamed Salma and the Christian danseuse of yesteryears, Helen.
Salman made his acting debut with Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988) but tasted first success with Rajshri’s Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) and won the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. Some of his other hits include Saajan (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Biwi No. 1 and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Tere Naam (2003), No Entry (2005), Partner (2007), and Wanted (2009), not counting the recent box office disasters like Yuvraaj, Me and Mrs Khanna, Veer (from his own story, though Salim Khan had warned him against attempting it). But Salman is also notorious for his defiant attitude.
But his audiences have taken his strong-headedness, moody, temperamental attitudes, unpredictable reactions in its stride. Indeed, this has become his selling point. And that’s why more than any other Khan his performances have been hailed whenever cast in a rebellious role, be it Tere Naam, Wanted and Dabangg—amongst the recent starrers. Not that he has found any less favour when appearing a softy, a vulnerable boy next door in love. He is, perhaps, the only one from the younger crop of heroes who has given the maximum number of Special or Guest appearances in films involving other heroes, including now arch rival, Shah Rukh Khan.
It is not easy for a Bollywood star any more (the last such being Amitabh Bachchan) to enjoy such a long, uninterrupted innings. In the two decades, beginning really with Maine Pyar Kiya, Salman has acted in 72 films (excluding 13 Special Appearances). He has been nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award 8 times and won it twice (for), and supporting actor (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, 1998); twice nominated for the Star Screen Awards, and thrice for Zee Cine Award.
The stupendous box office response to Dabangg, generally panned by critics for imbalanced screenplay and an overdose of Salman Khan (wasn’t the same yardstick applied to many of Bachchan hits?) does not stand to any reason because even the classes seemed to have patronised it wholeheartedly. One presumes the character of Chulbul Pandey in Dabangg, an extension of the role he essayed in Wanted, has been hailed by the viewing public for the somewhat realistic undertones (read: bribery, corruption, exploitation prevalent amongst the uniformed custodians of safety) that goes down well. The modern-day Robin Hood persona, served rightly, will always be a hit.
So the Salman Khan magic persists.
By Suresh Kohli
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