Salman Khan: the actor, star and human being

Apart from being in the news for the wrong reasons, Salman Khan hails from one of the most influential families in Bollywood.

Salman Khan is an actor with his own unique style and an unbelievable fan following – who is also known as the Rajinikanth of Bollywood. He’s labeled as one of the reigning Khans, with many claiming that he’s a misunderstood actor. He sure gets into his own share of trouble, current issue making headlines is the 2002 hit-and-run case that Salman Khan was involved in.

On 28 September 2002, he was arrested for rash and negligent driving after his car allegedly ran over four persons sleeping on the pavement. While one died, three others were injured.

The actor appeared in a Mumbai Sessions Court on Friday, (March 27) and told the court that neither was he driving the car, nor was he drunk, when the accident took place. Salman said that his driver, Ashok Singh was at the wheel of the car at the time of mishap. He further added that he had not consumed liquor on the day of the accident.

Salman Khan is facing charges of IPC Sec. 304(II) – which attracts a 10-year jail sentence, Sec. 279, Sec. 337, Sec. 338, Sec. 427, and under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949.

But, apart from being in the news for the wrong reasons, Salman Khan hails from one of the most influential families in Bollywood. And not only has the actor made a niche for himself with the kind of cinema he does, but is said to be one of the most loved Khans in the industry.

Born as Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan, Salman was born to noted screenwriter Salim Khan and his wife Sushila. He has two brothers – Arbaaz and Sohail and two sisters – Alvira and Arpita. He schooled at St. Stanislaus High School.

Salman Khan made his acting debut with ‘Biwi Ho To Aisi’ (1988), in which he played a supporting role. However, it was his role as the shy Prem in Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Maine Pyar Kiye’ (1989) that made him a household name. Maine Pyar Kiya went on to become one of India’s highest grossing films and its dialogues are remembered till date. Salman Khan also earned Salman his first Filmfare Award for Best male Debut and Filmfare nomination for best actor. In 1990, Salman Khan was seen romancing Naghma in ‘Baaghi: A Rebel for Love’, which was a Box Office success. 1991 saw three moderately successful films from Salman – ‘Patthar Ke Phool’ (opposite Raveena Tandon), ‘Sanam Bewafa’ and ‘Kurbaan’. The following year, Salman co-starred in Sanjay Dutt-Madhuri Dixit starrer ‘Saajan’, which was a critical and financial success. Following which, the actor suffered a few setbacks as far as films were concerned between 1992-93.

In 1994, Salman Khan was again back as the lovable Prem in yet another Sooraj Barjatya film – ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..!’. Salman Khan romanced the very beautiful Madhuri Dixit. The film went on to become of Bollywood’s biggest hits and was declared a blockbuster. It won three Filmfare Awards for Best film, Best Director and Best Actress. It also won the National Award for being the Most Popular Film of the year. Salman Khan next teamed up with Shah Rukh Khan for Rakesh Roshan’s ‘Karan Arjun’ in 1995. SRK and Salman played brothers who are reincarnated after being killed by enemies. The film earned Salman yet another Filmfare nomination for Best Actor.

Salman Khan had two releases in 1996 – ‘Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directional debut ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ opposite Manisha Koirala, which failed at the Box office but was critically acclaimed and action hit ‘Jeet’. The following year also saw two releases – David Dhawan’s ‘Judwaa’, where he played a double role and ‘Auzaar’, which was declared to be below average. ‘Judwaa’ on the other hand was a commercial success.

Year 1998 saw Salman in a number of different films – He first starred opposite Kajol in rom-com ‘Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya’, which was one of the biggest commercial successes that year. He then appeared in ‘Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai’. Though the film did moderately well, Salman Khan earned praise for his performance. And lastly, he appeared in a cameo in SRK-Kajol’s ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, for which he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

1999 was a fabulous year for Salman Khan as he delivered three big hits – the first was multi-starrer ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’ along with Karisma Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu and Sonali Bendre. He then starred in ‘Biwi No. 1′ which was one of the highest grossing films that year. He played Prem for the third time in Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’.

The same year, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ opposite his then real life girlfriend Aishwarya Rai Bachchan directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali released and it was an instant hit. Its songs like ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ and Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan’ became love anthems. Salman’s performance once again earned him the Filmfare nomination for Best Actor.

In 2000, Salman Khan co-starred along with beauties Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji in ‘Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega’. The film was received well and all three stars were praised for their performances. The trio was again seen in ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’. The film dealt with the topic of surrogacy and did well at the Box office. Following which, he starred in the delayed release ‘Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam’ (2002) opposite Madhuri dixit and friend Shah Rukh Khan, his then girlfriend Aishwarya Rai was in a supporting role.

In 2007, Salman Khan began the year with Nikhil Advani’s multi-starrer ‘Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love’. The film was received poorly and was declared a flop. Salman then starred in Hollywood film ‘Marigold: An Adventure in India’, but this too failed at the B.O. Salman Khan’s next big release was ‘Partner’ with Govinda, Katrina Kaif and Lara Dutta. It did very well at the box office, receiving a blockbuster verdict.

Year 2009 was a mixed year for Salman Khan. His first film Prabhu Dheva’s ‘Wanted’ with Ayesha Takia and Prakash Raj was the second-highest grossing movie of the year and was declared a superhit. He next appeared in ‘Main Aur Mrs Khanna’ and ‘London Dreams’. The former was a commercial failure, while the later was moderately successful. This was a very lean phase for Salman. And the bad phase continued with films like Veer, which released in 2010, it was a commercial and critical disaster.

But it was ‘Dabangg’ that brought Salman Khan back into action. Everyone fell in love with his character Robinhood ‘Chulbul Pandey’. The film received positive reviews and broke several Box office records. ‘Dabangg’ collected approximately Rs 808.7 million in its first week and won several awards. Salman Khan received a Star Screen Award for Best Actor and a Stardust Award for Star of the Year – Male. And since then there has been no looking back for Salman Bhai.

Salman Khan’s hit streak continued in 2011 – Anees Bazmee’s ‘Ready’ opposite Asin, which received mixed reviews from critics, was an instant hit and held records for being the second highest grossing Bollywood film of 2011. This was followed by ‘Bodyguard’ opposite Kareena Kapoor. The film was a major commercial success with a worldwide gross of Rs 2.3 billion (US$35 million) and was declared a blockbuster by Box Office India.

Salman Khan then romanced good friend Kareena Kapoor onscreen in ‘Bodyguard’, a remake of a Malayalam film by the same name. The film received mixed reviews but was a financial success, becoming the highest earning film of the year. In 2012 Salman Khan played the role of a RAW agent in Kabir Khan’s ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ along with his ex-girlfriend Katrina Kaif. Though the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was one of the most successful of Yash Raj film releases and was declared a blockbuster. It became the third highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, exceeded by ‘Chennai Express’ and ‘3 Idiots’.

Salman’s second release that year was ‘Dabangg 2, where he reprised the role of Chulbul Pandey. This film too received mixed reviews, but his beloved fans were quite clear – they loved the film. ‘Dabangg 2′ was declared a blockbuster as well and a superhit overseas.

In 2014, Salman Khan had two releases – first being ‘Jai Ho’ along with actress Tabu and newcomer Daisy Shah. Salman played the role of an army officer in the film, which was inspired from ‘Pay It Forward’. Unfortunately, it did not open well and was declared a semi hit. His next second release of the year, ‘Kick’ along with Jacqueline Fernandez, Randeep Hooda and Nawazuddin Siddiqui broke several domestic box-office records. Kick, which was an Eid release this year, went on to become the second highest grossing Bollywood film of all time.

Not only has Salman graced the big screen, but has a successful career on the small screen as well. He has been hosting the reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ since the fourth season. He has also hosted the second season of ‘10 Ka Dum’ in year 2009 which turned out to be even more successful than his first season as host of the game show in year 2008.

Coming back to his personal life, Salman Khan has undoubtedly had his own share of romance. Salman Khan’s sister Alvira is said to have fixed him up with Sangeeta Bijlani after her Miss India win in 1980. The duo parted ways in 90’s but are known to share a special friendship. Salman Khan was then known to be dating Somy Ali who he met through a common friend in 1993. However, rumors suggest that Somi was not too fond of Salman’s drinking and aggressive behaviour. She split from the actor in 1999.

Salman Khan was then linked to none other than former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. Their love story is one of the most-talked about and memorable one till date. The 21-year-old Aishwarya Rai fell for Salman during the shooting of their film ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ in 1999. However, after their split in March 2002, Aishwarya accused Salman Khan of beating her harassing her and her family filed a police complaint against him. There were also reports that Salman used to physically abuse Aishwarya. The two have never worked with each other till date.

He was then rumoured to have found love in Aishwarya-look-alike Sneha Ullal. But their relationship soon fizzled out. Next, came Salman’s much talked-about flame, Katrina Kaif. Though the duo never admitted to their relationship, Katrina was known to be very close to the Khan family as well. But they ended things in 2010 and continue to be friends, even co-starring in ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ after their breakup. She was one of the star guests at Arpita Khan’s wedding. Katrina is now dating Ranbir Kapoor.

Following his breakup with Katrina, Salman has a string of affairs to his name – German model Claudia Ciesla, Zareen Khan, Mahek Chahel and Hazel Keech. His latest rumoured flame is Romanian actress Lulia Vantur. The anchor-actress has been spotted with Khan in India last year and Salman too made a trip to Romania to visit her. She was also very much a part of Salman’s sister Arpita’s wedding day.

In 2006, Salman was sentenced to one year in prison for hunting the Chinkara, an endangered species. Later that year, he was handed a five-year jail term and remanded to Jodhpur jail until 13 April when he was granted bail.

Salman has supported a number of charities during his career. He started an NGO called Being Human which is a charitable trust founded for supporting and aiding the under-privileged.

Khan is currently busy shooting for two films – Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ opposite Sonam Kapoor, where he will be seen playing the role of Prem/Vijay. The next upcoming film is Kabir Khan’s ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ with Kareena Kapoor. Both films are scheduled for a 2015 release.

Source:: Indian Express