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FILM INTERVIEW: SALMAN KHAN

Salman Khan Hopes to Dominate Eid Box Office Again with Kareena Kapoor in ‘Bodyguard’

By: Simran Mody

August 23, 2011

Eid is about one week away, and that means Salman Khan is back at the box office with another potential Bollywood blockbuster. Last year it was Dabangg; this year, Siddique’s rom-com, Bodyguard (Reliance Entertainment), starring Sallu opposite Kareena Kapoor and Raj Babbar.

While Eid has become synonymous with Sallu, Mr. Khan went on the record with the Indian press corps that there is more to science of the Bollywood box office than being a star headlining a film during one of India’s biggest holidays of the year.

"The media and the trade say that Eid and Salman have become synonymous, etc. I don’t think like that,” Mr. Khan stated to the press. “This time, Eid and Ganpati are likely to be on the same day. I’m more excited about that. Hindu-Muslim rivalry is something I cherish. The festive season is all about watching a purely entertaining film.

“If the promo is boring or ridiculous, then the audience will not come to see my film whether it is Eid, Ganpati, or Diwali. You have to excite your audience.”

Indeed, Sallu hopes Bodyguard will excite Bollywood audiences this Eid, which happens to coincide with the film’s opening day on August 31st.

“Bodyguard is special because, apart from all the action, the comedy, and the music, the love story is beautiful. It is a different kind of love story. It has not been seen before. I love it,” Mr. Khan told the press. “If you consider Maine Pyar Kiya as an innocent love story, Bodyguard is somewhere close to that.”

While he is quick to point out that the film is a love story, many have said his leading role as a bodyguard is perfect because of the perception many have that Sallu is overprotective.

Mr. Khan does not mind being labeled as overprotective, as he tells the press that only means he is guilty of caring too much.

“If you are loyal, respectful, and sincere, you can be a bodyguard. I don't make a show of being anything that I am not,” he said, jokingly adding to the press that, “I am a bodyguard to both” Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor.

All joking aside, Sallu addressed questions to The Mumbai Mirror about just how comfortable he is starring in the masala films that made Bollywood renowned worldwide, or whether he would consider taking on more meaty roles.

“If you look at my characters -- Radhe in Tere Naam and Inspector Arjun Ranavat in Garv: Pride and Honour -- you’ll realize that I have done serious cinema,” Sallu told The Mirror. “But why would I want to do a French film when I am doing Hindi films? People go to a theatre to watch a film because they want to have fun. Why would I want to give them a rona-dhona film?

“For me, movies are real-life enlarged and enhanced. I can do stuff in movies which I can’t do in real life. It’s like taking real life to a different level,” he added.

Just as he will not change his approach in deciding which films to take on as an actor, Mr. Khan also told The Mirror he has always been true to his personal core ever since he entered the film industry, and Bollywood has never changed Salman Khan the man.

“I have not changed a bit. I have seen more life. So there might be things that I agreed with earlier and do not agree to now,” Mr. Khan told The Mirror. “If you are saying fame or power could change somebody, I don’t believe that. I think that money, fame, and power make you the person you are. Before that, the person is a jhuka hua aadmi. He is a humble man.”

Such humility will probably be on display the same the weekend after Eid, when Sallu reclaims yet again the throne as Bollywood’s King of the Holiday Box Office.

Distributed by Reliance Entertainment, ‘Bodyguard’ releases on August 31, 2011 worldwide.

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