The common man's superstar

The common man's superstar

 

Two decades on, Salman Khan continues to remain a darling of the masses in spite of various controversies shrouding his career,

 

Back in the 1990s, Salman Khan captured the attention of starry-eyed teenagers and front benchers with his muscular, good looks and charming intensity. Two decades later, Salman is still greeted with wolf whistles and catcalls every time he struts about on screen, shrugs off his shirt or breaks into a jig.

Last week, he swaggered on to the silver screen as the swashbuckling Chulbul Pandey, doing what he does best — beating up the baddies, swinging his hips and wooing the woman of his dreams. Cash registers haven't stopped ringing ever since Dabangg's release, all thanks to the star who plays the enigmatic bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold with ease.

And while director Abhinav Kashyap claims that he had to rewrite the role several times to get Salman's body language and mannerisms incorporated, the actor insists that he was not playing himself on screen. "I am nothing like the characters I portray in my films," he says.

Industry observers, film critics, fans and friends agree that Chulbul Pandey works because he has many shades — he is romantic, emotional, comic and masculine, a self-deprecating and over-the-top portrayal of Salman himself. "He plays the cheeky Chulbul to perfection. Its Salman's best performance till date," says actor Aamir Khan.

However, despite his undeniable star power, box office clout, and the exclusive membership to the Khan trinity (Aamir-Salman-Shah Rukh) club, the actor has always been the 'hero of the masses' with the 'thinking' moviegoers often dismissing him as loud and over-hyped.

Salman has also come under criticism for his off-screen reputation as 'Bollywood's brat', a tag that the actor seems uncomfortable with. "I am a regular guy, trying to live my life as best I can," he says. His knack of walking into trouble may have affected people's opinion of him as an actor, but those who know him claim that he has a heart of gold. "He is mercurial and often misunderstood but he is a great human being and will never hurt anyone intentionally," says father Salim Khan.