Salman Khan: A Phenomenon, A Powerhouse, An Enigma

In the long history of Indian cinema, there have been multitudes of stars, in their times shining brightest and turning everything they touched into a thing of marvel. Every epoch has seen those who have absolutely dominated the celluloid and belted out flurry of commercially successful films. There was Rajender Kumar who was fondly called the Jubilee Kumar for consistency with which he used to deliver Silver jubilees. He was one of the most reliable star of the time, who unfortunately seems to have been withering into oblivion now, alas it is a different topic altogether.

Rajesh Khanna, considered by many as the first superstar of the industry is known for giving record numbers of hits in quick successions. So were the cases with actors who followed in times to come like Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt for a period, Sunny Deol and a stint of Govinda, SRK has been ruling for his time. Each has enjoyed his time at the top of the rung. But a star that somehow stands apart from the rest in an enigmatic way is the Bhai of Bollywood, Salman Khan.

With his latest film Tiger Zinda Hai, already bludgeoning all the records on its way, it should hardly be a thing with even a modicum of surprise now. He’s been doing this with an unprecedented consistency that no any star hitherto has shown.

There’s no certain way or formula that guarantees one the connect with people, even more so for such a long time. but for Mr. Salman Khan it only seems to be getting stronger.

Sallu has a generation of fans loving his every move, He made it to the hearts of masses with Maine Pyaar Kiya that set the ball rolling for him and for Suraj Barjatya who would go on to collaborate with Salman many more times, each time to the same grandiose and to spell same the magic at box office. Sweet Sanskari Prem was carving out niche, making space for himself in the already dazzled field. Sans social media era had an element of mystery, thus perpetually unsatisfied audience ever eager to know about their star. It is a thing that today’s stars can never achieve given their so much exposure through various social media platforms.

He’s been around for a longest time, and one not so talked about facet of his grand personality is, umpteen anecdotes of him being chivalrous to people around and underprivileged. Bhai has helped a host of actors during their slump, be it Govinda, Aditya Pancholi, director Sawan Kumar for whom he’s said to have worked for free in the movie Sawaan. His big heart image always helps him connect with people and stay right atop. He’s also been a Launchpad to many who’ve made a name for themselves today. These people have shown their gratitude for Salman publicly many times, elevating Bhai to unprecedented heights. The followers these people have garnered naturally tend to have a soft corner for Sallu. And legion keeps growing.