Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; June 4, 2019)

In a chat with us ahead of his upcoming film Bharat, Salman Khan speaks about the longevity of his stardom, his choice of cinema, why he works with his friends and family, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and more.

Salman, you have had a strong connect with the audience for almost three decades now. You are often tagged as a massy entertainer, but what kind of films do you personally like watching?
I like watching entertaining films with an underlying message of compassion. When you come out of a theatre, it should make you want to be like the hero, follow him, look like him and behave like him. It should inspire you to change your personality, even if it’s just for a bit. A film should make you want to be a better person.

Indian cinema has evolved over the years with changing times and sensibilities. What do you think will always resonate with the audience?
I feel the ‘good-versus-evil’ theme will always resonate with the audience. Some people get into (questioning) a film’s sensibility and stuff like that, but where there are emotions and drama, there’s never any logic. I make movies to entertain my fans. Thoda sa hasao, rulao, elevate their spirit, taaliyaan, seetiyaan... that’s the kind of entertainment I want to offer. It comprises larger-than-life plots and success stories. What happens with some directors is that, they make their first two films for themselves, but then from the third film onwards, they make movies for other directors and critics. For me, that doesn’t work.

Bharat spans over six decades and has you sporting six looks. Tell us what the film is all about...
It’s an official adaptation of a Korean film. Bharat is hard to describe as a film. From Partition to decades later... it navigates a man’s journey and his hardships. It’s a serious plot with plenty of fun elements. There’s thrill, emotions, entertainment and, of course, heroism.

People often wonder why you stay in your comfort zone and mostly work with your friends and family...
You want me to work with my enemies? First of all, I don’t have any (smiles). Only if I get a good script, do I give my nod to a film. If my friends are getting me good scripts, why would I say no to them? I am a scriptwriter’s son, and a good script has always been my top priority. I need to love a script so much that it should make me want to begin the shoot tomorrow. All the films that I choose to do, begin as soon as they can go on the floors.

At a recent press conference, you said that Bharat isn’t for pseudo-intellectuals and critics. However, your films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Sultan have received rave reviews from the critics as well, so why this preconceived notion?
It’s not just about me. I am talking about others and the industry in general. When my film is rated one star, two stars or five stars, it doesn’t matter to me. The other producers are affected when you rip a film apart and influence the audience. Even if 10 per cent of the audience is affected, it’s still a dent. People work hard on a movie for 100-150 days, so I believe that you should let the fans see and judge the film for themselves. Whether they like it or not, let them decide that. Also, constructive criticism is fine, but that rarely happens. Most are personal attacks.

In your career spanning over three decades, you have seen overwhelming stardom, irrespective of the success of your films. What is it that keeps you going?
I feel it’s my job to keep people entertained, happy and motivated. That’s what I like doing. The pain that I go through in my life representing the emotions I feel or the amount of hard work that I put in... it’s all difficult. But when you see your fans enjoying and appreciating your work, you want to work that much more. It’s a redeeming factor. When people appreciate your work, you feel encouraged, and when that happens, it pushes you to do better. And for those who are not your fans, you want to convert them, too, and that makes you work even harder. Also, every single day that I work, provides bread and butter to a lot of people, and it’s a huge support system for them. We make films, they release in theatres and we pay the income tax... So many people contribute to various aspects of filmmaking — hairdressers, make-up artistes, stylists and people in various other production departments. Films generate revenue for so many people.

Are you amused by the fact that you continue to be a style icon? Be it your bracelet, hairstyle, sunglasses or outfits... everything is imitated by your fans...
I have seen these articles where you guys circle women’s clothing saying, isne yeh function mein yeh pehna tha or usney same outfit woh function mein pehna tha. If you were to do it on me, you’ll have to do it everywhere. I still wear the shoes that I have been wearing for the last five years. You will see me in the same black T-shirt and jeans for years. Meri Rs 500 ki T-shirt chalti rehti hai saalon saal. It’s a T-shirt, after all! You wash it and wear it again... Isme hai kya? Mere belts bees-bees saal tak chalte hai. Katrina (Kaif) ne ek belt diya tha, I still wear it. Bracelet pehle se pehenta hoon. The young fans, who like my style and might want to emulate it, should be able to do it without burning a hole in their pocket. Everyone likes new clothes. Even I like them, but I am not fussy about these things. The fancy stuff you see me wearing in my films is when I am told or required to wear them to play the part. I don’t know about being a style icon! In real life, I am a black T-shirt and ripped jeans person. My first pair of jeans was the one that my uncle got me from Germany. I wore it so much that woh pehen-pehen ke phat gayi. I still wore the phata hua jeans, and people thought it was cool. This was years ago, and today, ripped jeans are in fashion!

Have you been able to adapt to the social media frenzy?
Social media is good provided people don’t conceal or fake their identities to insult and humiliate others. Why hide? Are you ashamed of your name, identity? Aadhar card, passport, driver’s license sab real hai, but internet pe aake, jhuti profile se gaali deni hai. Even if you want to criticise someone, you should have the guts to do it with your real identity. Hindustan has a certain culture, sabhyata hain. Why do this? This random abusive language, gandi cheezen likhna... I feel it’s uncalled for and should be censored. You see stuff on the web that’s almost like porn and it’s accessible on your phone, even children can see it. What about these young kids? In films, 40 per cent of action sequences are cut when there’s too much blood or gore, aur social media par kuch bhi chal raha hai.

The Khans — Shah Rukh, Aamir and you — continue to dominate Bollywood, but 2018 was relatively challenging for the three of you as far as the box office was concerned...
Since the beginning of the film industry, not even 100 films may have touched the Rs 100 crore benchmark. Rs 100 crore is still a large number. I keep on saying, I hope ke jitni badi mega flop (aapko meri picture lagti) hai, main dua deta hu ke dusron ki picture utni hi badi hit ho jaaye. Even Race 3, which people say didn’t do that well, did a business of over Rs 170 crore, that’s huge. With all the negativity around it, the film still worked.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas was originally cast in Bharat. She had to walk out at the last minute owing to her marriage. During the Bharat promotions, it seems like you have been taunting her — even if that’s your sense of humour...
I am not taunting Priyanka Chopra at all. People would leave their husbands for a film like this, but I feel what she has done is the most amazing thing. She has worked so hard in her career. She really wanted to do this film and she left it to get married. I just joke about it in front of Katrina. If she says something about the film, I say, ‘Thank you, Priyanka’, hinting (playfully) she should say it, so that Katrina gets annoyed. I just tease Katrina. I have no problem with Priyanka. It’s a wonderful thing what she has done. She did it knowing perhaps that I might get upset, I might not like it or might not work with her... Despite all the thoughts that may have crossed her mind, she chose to get married to a man instead of this movie, which is a correct, noble and gutsy thing to do.

There have always been speculations about your marriage. Do you believe in marriage?
I don’t believe in marriage. I think it’s a dying institution. I don’t believe in it at all. Companionship? Yes.

What about fatherhood? Are you looking forward to having children?
When it has to happen, it will happen.

A lot of people in the past have approached you to write a book on your life, but you’ve declined. Will we ever see you changing your mind about it?
I’ll never change my mind about it.

Vivek Anand Oberoi had shared a meme about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, which created a furore on Twitter recently. Are you aware of that?
I don’t know about it. I haven’t seen it.

What inspires you?
A lot of people these days get impressed with negativity or gandi aadat, which they think is cool. I get drawn to nobility. People who make it big despite facing all the possible politics and hardships, I get impressed with their perseverance, spirit and attitude. I met this 24-year-old kid from Pune, who asked me how many toilets I have built. I said 36 outside Aarey Milk Colony, and he told me that he has built over 10,000 toilets. I was shocked to hear that. If you have people like him in your country, you don’t have to worry about your future. It’s in safe hands.