How Salman Khan does 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'
It’s not easy to qualify for the club.
If Karan Johar carries the mantle of nepotism with launching vibrant star kids, one after another, the industry has his antithesis - in Salman Khan.
The bhaijaan has an eye for losers and a nose for nonsense, coupled with an unwavering commitment to the idea of “sabka saath, sabka vikas”.
From Sneha Ullal in Lucky: No Time for Love to Daisy Shah in Race 3, Salman’s bag is full of starlets who can’t be even called “one film wonder” because they hardly get film offers afterwards. Of course, there are exceptions, like Katrina Kaif and Sonakshi Sinha. But as exceptions do not set the rule, Salman remains the unparalleled godfather of the losers.
Also, there is no gender bias. If you are only thinking about Sneha Ullal or Zarine Khan, you are grossly mistaken. Or you have forgotten (and who can blame you?) Sooraj Pancholi, Chetan Hansraj, Mohnish Bahl, who still consider themselves part of the industry only because there is bhai.
With Race 3, which hits the screens on June 15, Bobby Deol will also enter this club.
This is a select bunch though — it’s not easy to qualify for the club.
One, you should ideally be the kid of a B-grade yesteryears Bollywood actor.
Two, if this is your re-launch, no one should remember the name of the movie you were last seen in, or the year it was released.
Three, you have to accept the fact that you will never shine on your own and will have a lifelong membership of the losers’ club.
There are some who do fulfill such requirements.
Like, Nutan’s son Mohnish Bahl, who was seen in many Salman starrers, starting from Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Force (2011) to Jai Ho (2014). Otherwise, he managed to mostly remain missing in action.
Bobby Deol, who is making a much-anticipated "comeback" (From what, pray?) in Race3, was not actually fitted for this club in the beginning as the young Deol scion was actually awarded the Filmfare Best Debut trophyfor Barsaat (1995). But then, with a flurry of repetitive action movies, Bollywood soon threw him out of any action. As he was soaking in his unplanned retirement, Bhai and Race 3 happened to him.
Now, he considers Salman Khan the angel of his life, of course for the club's membership. Otherwise, who would have even thought that Bobby was still in the “race”.
Similarly, both Jai Ho and Daisy Shah were abruptly forgotten as soon as the film was released in 2014. But after a gap of four years, we again have Daisy blooming in Race 3.
Also, it would be a real injustice not to mention Nein Nitin Mukesh (Prem Ratan Dhan Payo), Armaan Kohli (Prem Ratan), and of course, Salman’s two brothers — Arbaaz Khan and Suhail Khan, who represent the small-scale cottage industry within Bollywood revolving around Salman.
According to reports, there’s quite a queue outside Salman’s club.
Mahesh Manjrekar’s daughter Ashwami will reportedly be seen in Dabaang 3. Aayush Sharma, Salman’s brother-in-law, will debut in Loveratri. Zaheer Iqbal whose father was Salman’s old loyalist, is also another gem our bhai has found very recently.
Salman’s time is equally divided between talent acquisition and appearing in courts. He doesn’t need to actually promote his films. One tweet is enough to create a buzz. And while he is “being human” for the greater good of society, stories of his arm-twisting, reportedly to throw people like Vivek Oberoi and singer Arijit Singh out of work, dissolve into the background.
Amid a bunch of losers, he remains the shiniest star ever.