Salman Khan
Salman Khan says his outlook toward life may have changed, but his film choices haven’t
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; August 17, 2015)

Bajrangi Bhaijaan crossed the Rs 300 crore mark and has been touted as Salman Khan’s best performance till date. And the film has had an everlasting impact on the actor. Admits Salman Khan, “This film has changed my outlook towards life. The way I used to see or lead my life before the film is way different from how I perceive it now. I guess I have become a lot calmer with this film.”

Making those shifts
Also with the huge commercial and critical success of BB, one might expect Salman to do more films like BB than a Dabangg. But the actor claims that although BB has changed his outlook towards life, his ‘choices will never change’. Prod him a little and he clarifies, “I have been there for 27 years and I’ve done almost 50-60 films. Every six-seven years, I have done something like this. So Bajrangi Bhaijaan isn’t new to me. Suddenly, people are like, ‘Oh, Salman did something different’. But they forget that I did a Tere Naam, a Kyon Ki much before. I did a film called Baghban, at the time I was doing some hardcore action films. But that actor was likeable and should be loved. You should play such characters. I have always made those shifts and will continue doing the same.”

Variations, please!
He adds that he would definitely want to take up these characters but also do something like a Dabangg and a Sultan. “There needs to be variation. Because if I don’t do that, people will again say that Salman is doing the same. I did five action films and they said that. I did a Bajrangi and they stopped. If I do five back-to-back films in the same space as Bajrangi, audiences will again say the same thing,” he continues.

“The bigger the hits, the faster you get bored of watching the same type of films. I thought Hum Saath-Saath Hain was a much better film than Hum Aapke Hai.. Koun?, but the latter already ran for over four years and then when you watched Hum Saath Saath Hain, you felt, ‘Arre yeh toh dekhi picture hai’,” he explained.

‘Don’t be scared’
Says director Kabir Khan, “For the longest time, people thought that Salman could only do a Dabangg or a Bodyguard. I don’t mean to say they are mindless, but as an actor, Salman has much more potential than just doing action entertainers. Bajrangi has proved that.”

And now, Kabir feels the actor will be inundated with such roles. “Previously, Salman was known only for a certain kind of films. Filmmakers were scared of offering him anything beyond an action entertainer. Now that BB has been loved so much, I believe directors will find it more easy and comfortable to approach Salman with an author-backed role in content-driven cinema,” says Kabir.