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Home , Aditya Pancholi, Anjaana Anjaani, Break Ke Baad, Dabangg (film series), Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Farah Khan

7 ,the collar dance ,he makes up Cover story SALMAN EASYDANCE << Bodyguard Whether itor is the the bicep belt dance dance of of of Ready steps as he goes along,with a little assistance .“Only he 9 << can do it,”says Farah Khan,who also says that she gets some of his best moves watching him dance at a party ICONIC NAME to Chulbul while he is slightly drunk.“I just copy it the next day.” and , From the romanticWanted hero Prem to the macho Radhey in and now the ironic Lovely Dabangg .His onscreen names Pandey in Bodyguard Singh for reflect his professional transition. >> 5 GIRLIN PERIL No Khan movie is complete

without the girl in peril.She << 3 has to be gorgeous.She has to Bone-crunching action, schoolboy humour, chartbusting be in trouble,with her family SIMPLE CLOTHES or a villain,and Khan has to songs and dialogue designed for applause.This Khan’s rescue her from her fate.If << It has to be affordable clothes, she looks like his most recent 10 movies have brought back the hero who can do it all. something anyI tailor wore can a jacket copy. you “In ex-girlfriend,it helps.There to his are no steamy scenes.The DEADLYSQUINT can make of anBodyguard old suit.”From By Kaveree Bamzai with Nishat Bari and Gunjeet Sra audience can only have one Sizing up his opponent who the boots in is always bigger than him Polo T-shirt,everything is easy sex object at a time. wo trucks of gym equipment preceded because (“otherwise there’s no fun to replicate.“IBodyguard wore one pair of in winning,”he says) has ’s arrival at the Baradari boots in been his trademark.This Palace Hotel in Patiala earlier this year. I ’t want children to is usually followed byMujhpe a harass their parents for 6 The actor was shooting Bodyguard, >> deadly dialogue: “ new things,”he says. BARE CHEST ek ehsaan karna ki mujhpe,” he which clocked ’s fastest koi ehsaan na karnabefore For the original Pocket Hercules Bodyguard T says in Rs 100 crore ever, making Rs 110 crore in the of Bollywood who sports he kills . domestic box office in the first week. For 15 days, 17 ½-inch biceps,a 30-inch waist Khan battled excruciating pain from a nerve and a 42-inch chest,his body disorder known as trigeminal neuralgia to is his biggest USP.FromMaine his Pyaar coy work out five hours a day, between 7 and 9 in the barechested act in , Kiya,1989,to the muscle-ripping,Dabangg morning, and 8 and 11 at night after pack-up, shirt-popping scene in for the mandatory shirtless scene in the climax. all his directors know how to show << He would do 2,000 abdominal crunches every 2 off his best asset. day, walk to the fort where the action was set, COOLACCESSORY Tere Fans have sported his trademark earrings and too-loose- for-the-wrist turquoise bracelet with as much enthusiasm and Wanted as they have accepted his onscreen style like the cult. Dabangg Naam haircut that has spawned a fringe still proudly << enshrined in hairdressing signboards across and STAR ENTRY aaya hai the corny heart-shaped sunglasses of 4 It’s a techniquehe enters borrowed the frame from Rajinikanthsouthern cinema.In style,kicking both open doors.In Dabangg, he is introduced dramatically,one asset at a time,first comes Bodyguard, << in Andaaz IN SEVEN DAYS the walk,thenWriter-director the back,and he Manish finally Gupta turns aroundsays the with build-up the line works.“While oui maa 10 WAYS bodyguard. people started clapping and whistling when he came RS 100 CRORE Dabangg, SILLYHUMOUR I'm not a fool, you think watching 8 The jokes are usually asinine.From Every Khan movie has TO MAKE on screen,even before he had done anything.” in 1994 to a deadpanBodyguard. << Apna Apna in Haraamzade se yaad? title song: HOTSONG Bodyguard I’m in nursery school 1 All songs have to be catchy,with easy recall value.Most at least one innuendo.Witness this: focus on Salman Khan.Take the aaya, Choubey.Some ji aapke are penned adarniye by pitashree him during kaise the haishoot. in Dabangg Sabki aan sabki shaan.The sabka songs ek have bhai to jaan be “kick-ass,”says aa gaya hai dekho bodyguard Khan.“There’s no point in being just average.” Photo imaging by SAURABH SINGH/www.indiatodayimages.com Cover story SALMAN KHAN

and run for 5-6 km in between the shoot. Biceps with a diameter of Interview 17-and-a-half inches, a 30-inch waist “I’ll never kiss a girl on screen” WORD POWER and a 42-inch chest aren’t easy to maintain but Khan knows the audience Salman Khan is recuperating in rily a family audience. And second, I His dialogues are easy to wants to see the shirt coming off. And New Jersey, USA, after a complicated learnt this a long time ago, every man’s spout and difficult to forget what they want, they will get. surgery to ease a nerve disorder called wife or girlfriend is for himself. He does- An action-oriented script, pumped Trigeminal Neuralgia, which had been n’t want to share her. WANTED,2009 up with powerful emblematic lines causing him excruciating pain for a Q.Why is it so important to have a Jab main ek bar commitment (“main maarta kam hoon aur gha- year. He spoke on the phone about the shirtless scene? de deta hoon to uske baad khud seetta zyada hoon”), easy-to-replicate enormous success of Bodyguard and I think the whole point is when peo- ki bhi nahi sunta. dance steps, and undiluted heroism, capping a hattrick of blockbusters. ple see it they think if this guy can take Main sharaab aur khoon apni Khan’s formula is currently No. 1 at the Q. So how does it feel? his shirt off, so can we. But you have to marzi se peeta hoon, dabake. box office. In September 2010, You can’t go mad about these prepare yourself mentally. I had just 15 Dabangg made Rs 143 crore at the things. It’s the festive season. The past days to work on my body for the climac- domestic box office and in June 2011, three films have done well. The busi- tic fight of Bodyguard. And I would DABANGG,2010 Ready made Rs 103 crore. Khan’s film ness has grown. Aabadi badti ja rahi work on every muscle of my body Hum tumme itne chhed karenge has become the biggest Indian film to hai (the population is growing), even if two/three times a week. I would have ke confuse ho jaoge ke saans open in the UK—193,000 pounds (Rs I’m not contributing to it. There’s a baby developed a superb body if I had three kahan se le aur paade kahan se. 1.4 crore)—a territory that normally born every 30 seconds or something, months, but squeezing it into 15 days Main aage aur peeche dono responds well only to romantic dramas. right? But seriously I feel happy that a can be harmful. Also, as you grow older, dekh sakta hoon. In the US, it has made $1.4 million (Rs film I selected is something people your metabolic rate slows down. 6.4 crore) in the first six days. liked. I hope that never goes wrong. Q.You seem to have become far Khan, recuperating in New Jersey, Q.What’s the secret of your more serious about your work now. USA, after a complicated surgery, has success? You have to be. Ticket prices have already got permission from doctors to I no longer do a film for the wrong start working out for his next film, Ek reasons. I have to be convinced ethically Tha , an international espionage and morally. Both the director and I drama for which is pay- have to be on the same page. There are ing him a fee of Rs 32 crore. He plays a just five songs in most films these days RAW agent to ’s ISI operative. and they have to be amazing. There has READY,June 2011 Both are working undercover and ex- to be a twist in the screenplay. The Zindagi main teen cheez kabhi pectedly fall in love, and retire to live editing has to be crisp. Your hard work increased. Your fans expect something. underestimate nahin karna: I, me happily ever after in an unnamed des- should show, but effortlessly. It has to be You can’t let them down. and myself. tination, but not before saving India a subject people relate to. You have to Q.And you’re more involved? Main modern zamane ka kutta and from the brink of war. approach the film like a member of the Yes, I do think of some of the hoon... wooow wooow wooow. The shoot will take the two former audience. When it’s being narrated to lines and jokes. I enjoy the process of off-screen lovers to Dublin, Istanbul you, you should enjoy it. composing music. The first time I hear and Cuba. It’s a change of scene for Q.What are the things you will a song, it has to bring a smile to my lips. BODYGUARD,August 2011 Mujhpe ek ehsaan karna ki mujhpe Khan, but he’s made sure it has the key never do in a movie? You have to tap your feet and be able to koi ehsaan na karna. ingredients that have worked for Never kiss the girl on screen. I feel sing the song. ■ him this past year: action, comedy, ro- awkward. First, remember, it’s prima- Main maarta kam hoon aur mance and at least “five kick-ass ghaseetta zyada hoon. songs”. Many of these are his own con- tributions, says long-time friend, many of them outrageously silly but , , waiting for help. Pyaar Kiya, Prem, the good son, and he been a resounding clanger. Even after combines rural mobility with urban 73-year-old film distributor J.P. unfortunately contagious. A sample: Papers are sent in to his one-bedroom sees no reason to break that. “Parents tasting success with Wanted he didn’t ideas, something that or Chowksey, whom Khan calls “uncle”. “To kya bum ko rum bolun? Drum ground floor apartment, money or as- have to want you as their son, young- arrive at the winning formula right were never able to He writes many of his own trade- bolun? Chewing gum bolun…?” surances are sent out. Khan insists on sters have to think they can be like you, away. Between Wanted in 2009 and do. The dichotomy comes from his mark lines, such as the one from It’s this common touch that works wearing simple clothes in his films, children have to idolise you,” he says. Dabangg in 2010 were three bloop- small town roots (he was born in Dabangg (Hum tumme itne chhed for Khan, which allowed him to connect usually vests, shirts that are easy to And everyone has to want a bhai- ers—Main Aur Mrs Khanna, London and spent every summer there until he karenge ke confuse ho jaoge ke saans with everyone from a eunuch to an clone, blue jeans or as in most of Ready, jaan like him, who will help them when Dreams and the colossal flop, Veer. was old enough for regular school) and kahan se le aur paade kahan se). He autorickshaw driver in Sony’s ka bermudas. “I make sure I wear one they’re in trouble. When he’s not done There’s a more studied analysis of his status as the son of one of often composes his own music, such Dum, and which he has retained pair of shoes throughout a movie,” he that in the recent past, as in the tal- his appeal. Khan represents a certain Bollywood’s most successful screen- as in Bodyguard which despite 23 long years of being a star. says, “otherwise children start harass- ented drug-addicted singer of Vipul kind of virile masculinity that no longer writers, . Since more people Chowksey says he heard Khan hum- At any given time, there will be a gag- ing their parents to get them more.” His Shah’s , 2009, or the exists in Indian males but is something are migrating to cities from villages, ming to composer Himesh Resham- gle of at least 50 people standing out- hero mould was set by somewhat vengeful brother of Subhash they aspire to achieve. He is single, with they idealise it, says sociologist Sanjay miya. And yes, the ad libbed jokes, side his home in Galaxy Apartments, in in his first blockbuster in 1989, Maine Ghai’s Yuvraaj, 2008, the movie has a string of beautiful girlfriends. He Srivastava. Even his wealth is subdued,

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NEW NEW Cover story SALMAN KHAN

THE ROM COM A genre imported from the US where a feisty girl meets a new-age slacker boy. She knows what she wants. He doesn’t even know he wants her.Think Band Baaja Baraat and . She gets to wear pretty dresses, he gets to spread his arms out wide, like , across a landscape in Australia/New Zealand/ Switzerland or all of the above. She has an understanding father and he has a charming mother. Says Band Baaja Baraat director Maneesh Sharma,“All rom coms will have the same graph—boy meets girl, they fall in love and have to fight some odds to save their relationship. It’s when the story is presented in an interesting and new way that people like it. In BBB, the freshness factor was the love versus COMING SOON career, something many people face now.”Rom coms are the ’S most accurate barometer of the battle of the sexes.They are DIRECTORIAL DEBUT true to their times.Audiences connected to that novelty in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge as they did in . PAIRS WITH USP A gorgeous young couple, think Imran Khan and It used to be (think Salaam in ;a sentimental dialogue PIN-UPBOY Namaste and Hum Tum). Now it is Imran delivered at an inconvenient time, think Jimmy Shergill’s Khan, who is with most of the new directors making films discourse towards the end of Tanu Weds Mannu; and a dash in this genre, such as and Shakun Batra. to the airport, think in .

out of the public gaze. His farmhouse in plicitly trusts the director and him. “He Panvel is set in a 150-acre plot, with a won’t ask a single question, though swimming pool, three bungalows, and people around him might be con- a state-of-the-art gym. cerned. He’ll arrive on the set and Khan cashes in on this outsider- coolly walk up an 80 foot high ledge and THE SCANDALSHEET makes-it-big image by building his execute a jump.” He doesn’t complain Everyone loves a juicy scandal and characters along the same aspirations, even when a scene goes into the 12th films like , with names such as Radhey, Chulbul and 13th take, performing the last take Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and Pandey and Lovely Singh. He’s both with as much energy as the first. squeeze it for ordinary and special; Indian and not He’s the 70s-80s working class hero every delicious drop.Ask , writer of Once Upon A Time NRI; loyal to family, friends and with a new noughties irreverence. servants, and emphatically Indian in Hence the break into comedy often in In Mumbaai and The Dirty Picture, style, dressing in neo-urban flash, with the middle of an intense action scene— “People enjoy the film more when earrings and bracelet, says film the shovel being used to attack an op- they know it happened for real.”Ask scholar Rachel Dwyer. ponent is used as a back scratcher Mukesh and , who In an industry where his contempo- in Bodyguard and haven’t left any scandal unexplored, raries want to be presented as young- the rival goon whether it is cricket betting in sters, he doesn’t pretend. His hair is allowed to COMING SOON Jannat or the underbelly of the ’S courtesy a weave from a doctor in take a call media in Showbiz. Or even Madhur THE DIRTY PICTURE, Bhandarkar, who has gone from Dubai whose number he shares freely, from his WITH his body is the result of constant hard mother be- RECREATING THE LIFE Fashion to Jail to Corporate. work, and the eyes are often accompa- fore being OF THE LATE SEX nied by bags. Then there is the visceral thrashed in SIREN USP Strong roles for action. The sequences in Wanted, Dabangg. He ob- women.They get to Dabangg and Bodyguard have been di- serves people around drink, smoke, cuss and rected by the Tamil veteran of 480 him and remembers hooray, even have sex. films, fight master Vijayan. The 54- the simple year-old says Khan’s USP is that he im- things: he . For if the girl’s got to LUCKYCHARM have sex it has to be with him. He’s the king of the kiss, kiss, bang, bang world. His last film, 2, which

22 INDIA TODAY ◆ SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 was awash in severed limbs and lusty kisses, made Rs 28 crore.

NEW Cover story SALMAN KHAN

THE DARK INDIE These films go where big budget multi starrers rarely do, inside massage parlours that give happy endings like That Girl In Yellow Boots, Nigerian-run drug dens in Mumbai like Shaitan, or the grocery store of ’s . Guneet Monga, co-producer on films such as That Girl In Yellow Boots and producer of Gangs Of Wasseypur, says these movies “titillate”the mind enough for the viewers to have a debate instead of just popcorn.

USP Hard-hitting scenes, complex characters and gritty COMING SOON performance.Their entire budget is usually the cost of RIBHU DASGUPTA’S PSYCHOLOGICAL five songs in a wannabe blockbuster. Low on budget, they THRILLER MICHAEL are high on all sorts of family neuroses. STARS NASEERUDDIN Kalki Koechlin, who SHAH, FOR WHOM BRAND AMBASSADOR ROLES ARE OFTEN became emblematic of WRITTEN bad girl-bad boy movies. She also happens to be the wife of the dark lord of dark cinema,, who is either producer, director or chief inspiration behind these movies.

picked up the Bodyguard walk from across India. Mandhana Textiles is in- the way people strut after they’ve just vesting Rs 100 crore in developing a joined the gym and the bicep dance branded clothing line for him while the from one of the cameramen on the foundation’s Facebook page has a fol- THE BAWDYCOMEDY Patiala shoot. “Most things I do are lowing of over half a million. There’s Jokes that go no further than the improvised from what I see in real life,” Bigg Boss for another season on Colors, bedroom or toilet. Beautiful bimbettes he says. “There’s nothing original.” co-hosted with friend . Plus sandwiched between two, sometimes As fellow actor Imran Khan says: the movie business can only grow. India three, naughty 40-year-old men. Over- “He has always stayed Salman Khan.” is an underscreened market, with just active libidos and under-used minds. His biggest formula is himself—a 12 screens per million, compared to 77 The films are usually ensembles where wayward child who has grown up screens per million in France and 117 actors such as ,Arshad to be a kind-hearted do-gooder, screens per million in the US. Warsi and are used to says Amit Khanna, chairman of According to a study by the United fill in the blanks. which Nations, a country with India’s popula- produced Bodyguard and released tion should have at least 100,000 it across an unprecedented 2,800 screens compared to 10,000 currently. screens. Even his biggest critic Salim The fans adore him. It could be Khan believes he has come of age. “He Baharul Islam, 25, a management was always talented. What he lacked consultant from Mumbai, who grew up was discipline. That’s what distin- with his posters from Maine Pyaar COMING SOON guished Tendulkar from Kiya and Baaghi on the wall. “I love RASCALS, DIRECTED Vinod Kambli. Salman has him for his ability to bounce back and BY MASTER OF THE now come to a point where because I see myself in him.” Or it GENRE , people want to write stories could be autorickshaw driver WITH SANJAY DUTT, for him,” he says. Ram Kumar Tiwari, 32, who watches AND KANGANA He’s developed a shrewd Khan’s movies because they have a business sense too, making up to little bit of everything in them. In a Fat, fart and fast-and- RANAUT USP loose jokes. Rs 10 crore an endorsement—he marketed fragmented by the rise of endorses seven brands, including regional cinemas and divided by rising , who took History Channel which wants him to ticket prices, he is a powerful unifier. POSTER BOY over from where Govinda present history “hatke”. His Being He’s the Khan who can do no wrong. left with films such as Thank You,Housefull and Human T-shirts are the most pirated with Shilpa Rathnam Singh Is Kinng.

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