Salman is invincible!! Happy Birthday
Salman Khan, Bollywood's enfant terrible-turned-Robin Hood (Pandey) steps into his 46th year. And this is perhaps his most significant birthday. This has been Salman's year at the movies. Ready and Bodyguard, his two releases this year, are among the top five grossers of all time. Originally considered the weakest of the three Khans (Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman), he was the actor - whose personal life (the black-buck case, his relationship with Aishwarya Rai and the accident on Hill Road) - got more media mileage than his career.
Sometimes, one wonders whether it was a red herring "planted" by his detractors to camouflage the fact that Salman has been actually ruling the roost from the start of his career. Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), his second film outing, and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..! (1994) overshadowed the records of many of his rivals and can rightfully occupy a place on the list of evergreen hits like Sholay, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and 3 Idiots.
However, the mistake Salman made was with his 'I-care-a-damn' attitude towards the media, and his scant respect for the big daddies of cinema, be it Aditya Chopra or Karan Johar. In fact, the fourth estate took it upon themselves to cheer on his peers more than necessary just to belittle him. But did any of this really stop the onslaught of Salman? Not really. After Wanted in 2009, the actor just went from strength to strength. What's more, he turned his charm on the media, and had them eating out of his hands.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, "Today, Salman is invincible. The public always loved him, now even the media loves him." Once considered the joker in the pack, Salman became the King of Aces when Dabangg (2010) found itself a place in the highest grossers of that year. He followed this with two blockbusters - Ready and Bodyguard - this year. Bodyguard's first day's collection of `22 crore is unheard of in the history of Hindi cinema.
Producer-distributor NR Pachisia says, "If you take the sum total of Salman's box office collections over the last three years, you are bound to come to a mind-boggling figure. Yes, he is the most bankable star today."
Aamir Khan, Salman's best friend, has said, "Salman deserves all the success because he is a simple guy at heart. It is his simplicity that makes him such a favourite with the masses." Of course, 2011 also brought Salman his share of misery. His tryst with trigeminal neuralgia showed the vulnerable side of the star. A trip to the US has sorted out his health issues as of now. As he blows out the candles on his birthday cake today and pops the champagne, one sincerely wishes Salman good health and more cheer.
