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THE LATTER HALF of the eighties saw a revolutionary change and a radical shift in the Hindi film industry's star system. Almost overnight, the older breed was making way for new blood. In 1988, Aamir Khan had already established his own with 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'. A year later, it was another Khan's turn to hit the bulls-eye — Salman Khan with 'Maine Pyar Kiya'. Incidentally, Salman had made his screen debut earlier with a small part in 'Biwi Ho To Aisi'. The film went completely unnoticed and so did Salman. It was director Sooraj Barjatya who re-introduced him in 'Maine Pyar Kiya' and there ws no stopping this hunky hero after that. To Salman's credit, it must be said that unlike his closest contemporary Aamir, he didn't take very long to prove his worth as a star. There "was a time when he was the Prince Midas of Hindi cinema — anything he touched turned gold at the box-office. Salman gave a whopping six hits in a row after 'MPK', much to the dismay of his rivals. It was his herculean charisma that powered even flaccid movies like 'Kurbaan', 'Patthar Ke Phool' 'Sanam Bewafa', 'Baaghi' and 'Suryavanshi', thereby making them rewarding propositions at the ticket counters. After Rajesh Khanna, Salman Khan is the only hero who can be termed as the quintessential star, in its most ideal sense. With every hit he delivered, there was a new scandal that rocked his life. The man was (and still is) the media's most favourite cover-boy. His relationships with Sangeeta Bijlani and Somy Ali made headlines almost every month. His arrogance, his contempt for the press, his involvement in brawls made his image of a superbrat all the more exciting. Even today, his affair with Aishwarya Rai is making more news than any of his screen performances.
But it would be unfair to credit his popularity and success to his off-screen antics. Salman has struggled a long way to reach where he has. Being the son of Salim Khan didn't really help him in any way, as his father himself was going through such a rough patch. Salman's first tryst with films was when he joined Shashilal Nair's production unit as an assistant director. At that time, he was heavily inspired by Sunjay Dutt and he modelled himself on the lines of Sunju. If 'Maine Pyar Kiya' hadn't happened to him, he would have probably been lost in the crowd. Maybe that's why he owes every bit of his success to the Rajshris, who gave him a break after his disastrous debut in 'Biwi Ho To Aisi'. The Barjatyas gave him his second big break with 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun'. When they signed him for this film, Salman's career was down in the dumps. He already had failures like 'Chandramukhi', 'Ek Ladka Ek Ladki', 'Jagriti' and 'Nischay' behind him and the industry was all set to pen down his obituary. And then, 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' happened to him, a film that has gone down in history as the biggest hit of all time. The same year, Salman gave yet another box-office blaster 'Karan Arjun' but the monumental success of'HAHK' completely overshadowed the triumph of this Rakesh Roshan-directed film. Salman is now considered to be one of the top three stars of the country. His popularity among the youth is unprecedented. With 'Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya', he has been sporting his sexuality very blatantly and that's made him even more stimulating among his fans.
Which is why even with the arrival of younger stars like Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan, the Salman magic is still electrifying. Salman has maintained his star status with consistent hits like 'Jeet', 'Judwaa', Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya', 'Biwi No.l' and 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'. He has also proved his versatility as an actor with films like 'Khamoshi-The Musical', 'Veergati', 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hain' and 'Bandhan'. Now in his mid-thirties, Salman will soon face a crucial phase in his acting career. Until now, he has been rather casual about his work and characterisations. But he'll have to shift focus from playing the Casanova loverboy soon enough. How the audience will accept him in the new avatar is something we'll look forward to. |
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