DNA (January 28, 2015)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had nominated Salman Khan in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The actor has actively been part of the campaign. He along with his team had painted every house in a village Hatluni during the shoot of Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Continuing his campaign, the superstar has revealed his plan to nominate 100 followers every month to carry on the campaign. He posted the following message on Republic Day, “The Honorable Prime Minister nominated me for the Swachh Bharat campaign and I have cleaned and painted three villages in Maharashtra so far. I intend to continue with this initiative, but Swachh Bharat is not about what one of us can do. It’s about what each of us can do. So on Republic Day, I am taking this campaign social. I will nominate 100 followers a month for Swachh Bharat. Please start a sustainable Swachh Bharat initiative in and around your area of work or residence or both. Upload your before and after pictures or videos. Five of the best initiatives will get special mention on my Facebook page and also win a prize each. ” Appreciating his efforts, PM Modi posted, “Once again, @BeingSalmanKhan makes a distinct and appreciable effort towards a Clean India. I congratulate him.”

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 2, 2015)

Salman Khan does not need any more fans than he already has. But now an entire village in Karjat has joined the ranks of his admirers.

Salman led the entire unit of his film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, for which he is currently shooting in Karjat, to village Hatluni late last month to paint the houses and distribute sarees to village women.

The visit to the village was surprise for everyone, including the film's leading lady Kareena Kapoor, director Kabir Khan, and composer Himesh Reshammiya, was announced suddenly after a day's pack-up.

The unit was helped by a bunch of professional painters and the 30-member group managed to paint every house, the village library, and even the water tank, in under five hours. Sallu cherry-topped the day by gifting sarees to the village women, and engaging the boys in a game of football.

The houses, mostly made of mud and wood and with thatched or tin roofs are all now brightly coloured in pinks and blues. One of the houses even got a painting done by Salman as a wall-hanging.

The idea to paint the village struck Salman when he was stationed at ND Studios, Karjat, flitting between two films, Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.Just outside the studio gates, a few lanes away, is the village of Hatluni, which the actor would pass on his way to and from work.

"There were about 30 of us, and led by Salman, we painted the entire village in one five-hour stretch. The results are fantastic," said Kabir Khan.

When Mirror visited the village, the houses looked picture perfect.

And the ladies were quick to emerge in their saris and pose in front of their newly painted homes. "When I saw my husband walking back with Salman Khan, I was astounded and even more so when he told us that the actor was going to paint our house," said Roshni Devi.

Many of the villagers are part-time workers at the studio and Salman knows them well. So he was in no hurry to say goodbye. "We played football with him till midnight," said Kishore, a nine-year-old who insists he's never looked at Salman as a star. "I've sat in his lap, held his hand and dragged him to play with me. He never says no to me," he said.

Baby Lakshmi Devi, 89, said she was the first woman to welcome the star into the village with an aarti. "The security guards surrounding Salman Baba were not letting me meet him. But then he saw me standing there with my pooja thali and told his guards to move aside," she said. "He responded by putting an arm around me and saying, 'Changli diste bai'."

One of the more creative artistes from the crew had drawn a blue Ganesha on a piece of wood lying around. Spotting it, Salman decided to nail it on one of the freshly painted walls. "Bhai put it up himself," said Janki, the proud house owner.

The villagers have only one complaint against the star. "Salman doesn't speak Marathi too well, so I don't think he understands everything I tell him," said Lakshmi Devi. But her daughter-in-law does not agree entirely. "He always asks us how we are doing and his Marathi has definitely improved over time," she said.