An escalating career alone is impossible. Though Salman Khan has obviously faced more than his share of downfall in Bollywood with more flops and forgettable films in his kitty than hits or blockbusters, the actor charismatic return with Wanted and Dabangg is unforgettable. But Jai Ho was a dud. We can argue and debate but given a Salman Khan film, a feeble 111 crores is not something think highly of. Ofcourse, the year’s sole 100 crore entrant so far, we can issue a zillion defensive statements but with the box office benchmark being marked at 283 crores and 227 crores now, 100 crores isn’t for the reigning Superstars alone.
Though it is not Salman alone who is faced with something of this order. Aamir Khan’s underwhelming phase did lead to Dhoom 3 afterall. After establishing the 100 crore club with Ghajini and 200 crore club with 3 Idiots, Aamir’s Talaash did not echo the same performance with many even resorting to trolling the film on social networking sites. Many critics will argue that Talaash was a beautifully portrayed film. It had high voltage drama and the reason why it didn’t work was because the climax of the film went viral within days of its release. Aamir too in an interview with Koimoi, elucidated that he wasn’t expecting mesmeric success from the film. The actor said, “I knew that the film did not have the potential for 100 crore because the film was for a niche audience and loses it charm once the secret of it is revealed.”The paranormal too was problematic for many. Hence the film’s box office could not swell too the 100s and 200s that was expected of it.
Aamir Khan in a still from movie ‘Talaash’ and ‘Dhoom 3’
How is Aamir’s case history related to Salman’s Kick? Well Salman too tried to play a good-boy in his last film quite unlike the Robinhood image we have of him. An all-good Salman is hard to digest. Grey shades work wonders for Salman evidently. Way more was expected was him given the pressing box office demands from superstars, but clearly Salman failed to meet up with the taxing demands. However, after Talaash, Aamir’s Dhoom 3 was a record breaker of sorts. Not only the film recorded the highest domestic box office collections till date, the film also holds the record for highest income in the international markets as well.
Salman Khan in a still from movie ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘Kick’
Though Salman’s Jai Ho was meted out with lesser box office income than expected, Kick has Salman donning his wicked flair again. And yes the bad boy image of him does have an irresistible charm in it. It undeniably works! So don’t be surprised if Kick turns out to be Salman’s Dhoom 3.
