It was in 1988 that a scrawny young man called Salman Khan made his debut in Hindi cinema as a supporting actor in ‘Biwi Ho To Aisi.’
Not many would have foreseen that 24 years later, the son of a famous scriptwriter Salim Khan would be ruling the roost in the Hindi film industry.
It has been a remarkable journey for Salman, who first tasted commercial success in ‘Maine Pyar Kiya.’ His initial years in tinsel town saw him acting in a plethora of romantic films, mostly paired with new faces.
He continued delivering a string of successful films such as ‘Saajan’ and ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun,’ which established him as a bankable star.
Salman more than made up his inadequacy as a superb actor with his chocolate boy looks and a perfectly sculpted body.
His mannerisms and style gave him a huge legion of fans.
Expanding his repertoire beyond romantic films, Salman found success in the field of comedy as well.
But the early part of this millennium saw his career hit a rough patch.
As his films failed, Salman started looking jaded and uninterested in his performances, and a newer lot of stars threatened to displace him.
In 2007, he turned his career around, with ‘Wanted’ (remake of Telugu film ‘Pokiri’) established him as an action star. It was a throwback to the Masala films seen by Hindi cinema through the 1970s.
Four blockbusters
Salman was the star who could do superhuman things on screen and his fans lapped up Salman in this avatar.
Since then, he has delivered four blockbusters in a row – ‘Dabaang,’ ‘Ready,’ ‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Ek Tha Tiger.’
All these have grossed more than US$ 1 billion each.
These films were not masterpieces, but manifested the hold of a star on the audience. Viewers loved to repetitively watch Salman do his action, romance and comedy combination on screen in these movies; and he did with aplomb.
Release of his films is now similar to an event of national importance in India. Salman also enjoys phenomenal popularity outside Indian shores, with his films released worldwide.
Hindi cinema has hardly seen hero worship of this magnitude since the heydays of Amitabh Bachchan.
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