Salman's fitness is an integral part of his identity. It’s the myth that built the superstar. When that viral photo of him with a belly bulge hit the internet in May this year, fans panicked. ‘My first thought was: Is he depressed? Why doesn’t he care about himself any more?’ his fan Sharib Khaimar told me. Sharib is a 23-year-old fitness trainer in a small village off Versova in Mumbai. He’s been running a modest gym since he turned twenty, teaching local kids the basics of bodybuilding. Every morning they run on the Versova beach and, if you are lucky, you might see them play the most nail-biting game of football.

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For Sharib, Salman’s chiselled body became the gold standard of manhood. That’s why the viral photo hit him hard. ‘Salman is the reason I started working out in the first place. When I saw that photo, it felt like my hero had stopped caring,’ he said, adjusting the weights on a battered barbell. ‘It felt like he’d given up. But I know everyone has tough times. I hope he bounces back. It might sound strange but Salman’s body is not just his — it’s part of us too. We own that myth of Salman Khan. Of course, he’s allowed to age, become fat, catch his breath and lie low. But this is a man who built his stardom on sweat and pushed all of us to take care of ourselves. This is the man who knew the effect his bare-chested walk would have on both men and women. To see him let go is… catastrophic.’

Isn’t he being dramatic, I casually queried. ‘Dramatic?’ he fired back, his voice rising. ‘Salman’s body is a national treasure! When he rips off his shirt, the entire country holds its breath. You think we’re overreacting? We’re talking about the man who taught India how to dream of having a body like that. He’s the original fitness God. If he gives up, it’s like the temple’s falling apart.’

We were sitting in a dusty local gym in Versova gaon, and there was a life-size poster of Salman, all veins and intensity, staring down at us from a wall. Next to the poster, Salman’s quote stands in bold, his words thundering, ‘The older you get, the better you have to look, the higher you have to kick, the harder you have to work.’

Sharib tells me that his gym is a Salman centre. He and his bantais (blokes) watch a Bhai film every day. The evening we met, they were to screen Wanted. ‘This gym is my little shrine to Salman. We are complete Salmaniacs. Even when we work out, we play his songs. A lot of Salman’s mania comes from his fitness. There is an entire generation of men who grew up wanting to be him. And he inspires us every day, even when he isn’t in his best shape. He has this burning drive in him. It’s Bhai, woh sabko masal denge [he will squash everyone]!’ 

As a teenager, Oindrilla Biswas’s [name changed] love for Salman was just about his looks! She admits to me, ‘Men are never shy to admit how they love someone just for their looks. But young girls back in the 1990s could not do so openly. At least I couldn’t. Everyone around me loved Shah Rukh because of how he made them feel. I liked him too, yes, but he was never the kind of looker who would blow my mind. Salman was that guy! His face, his smile, and his body had a major role to play in drawing me in. I love him in Karan Arjun. He is brooding and sexy. There is this obscure film with Neelam called Ek Ladka Ek Ladki, which not many love, but I loved Salman in it. There is a throwaway scene in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, where he is doing push-ups, in which he seems so physically appealing. Think of the 1990s and small-town India. As a teenager, understanding sexuality was complex. There was so much shame attached to dating. We weren’t encouraged to speak to boys. If we liked someone, we would be grounded. Salman was the first man I ever saw topless, because no one else would show us what their bodies looked like. Right after his smile got us giddy, it was his bare chest and big biceps that made you crush on him. He has a major role to play in my sexual awakening. 

This might sound lusty, but I mean it in the most matter-of-fact way. I liked his body so much that it became an ideal for me. Waxed chest, toned muscles, and a man who knows the effect he has on women.’

I tell her that Salman doesn’t wax. Madhuri Dixit reportedly asked him during the shooting of Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! if he did, and he replied, unfazed, ‘I am a man, I shave it.’

In case men are taking notes, that’s what Bhai does!

In 1998, Salman Khan’s body became the only thing on both men and women’s minds. Behind his iconic song O O Jaane Jaana, is the most charming story. Having just bulked up some muscles, the costume planned for him no longer fit him. And so, he just decided to go shirtless. In the ’70s and ’80s , the stars of the time like Rajesh Khanna were known for their melancholic smile, or Amitabh Bachchan for his towering height. Khan brought a revolution to Bollywood by bringing the muscular body at the forefront of his appeal. Soon, a film couldn’t truly be Bhai’s if he wasn’t seen shirtless in it. While this made Salman a favourite with the ladies, it also started a gymming revolution among men, who all dreamed to have a body like Bhai’s. Having a muscular body became a rite of passage for actors to truly become “heroes” post-Salman. Soon after, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, all followed suit making their own 8-pack abs.