Salman Khan Talks to Friday,UAE Magazine abt Kick & why Being Human should become a philosophy Features | The big story Salman Khan: Bigg Boss of Bollywood If there are two things that can get Bollywood hunk Salman Khan to wax eloquent, it is movies and his charity Being Human. The star, who made a huge splash when he was in Dubai recently, talks to Friday about the massive hit Kick, his charity and why it should become a philosophy By Anand Raj OK By Anand Raj OK 19 Sep 2014 | 12:00 am Be first to comment Source:Dennis B. Mallari/ANM Image 2 of 2 Silence descended on the Cigar Lounge at The Address Downtown, Dubai, as two burly security men marched in. The throng of media turned their heads, all craning to see if the VIP they had been waiting two hours to meet had finally arrived. Then the silence was broken with muted ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ as the press spotted Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, flanked by two more men in black. Dressed in a black Being Human T-shirt – of course – and a pair of jeans, the muscularly built star smiled as he was led to the adjoining interview room. Waving to the crowd and mouthing ‘hi’, Salman, 48, swept past, seemingly oblivious to the effect he was having on half the female reporters. “He looks so cute,” sighed a 20-something journalist, filming the star on her mobile. “I have to post this on FB now.” And then the Big Boss of Bollywood was gone, vanishing with the security entourage behind closed doors. Now all we could do was wait. Everyone returned to their seats and began chatting about every aspect of one of the highest-grossing stars in Bollywood while the efficient PR woman from Splash – the fashion house that brought brand ambassador Salman to Dubai to discuss Being Human – said “Your turn” and led the first journalist in to meet him. Wondering when it would be my slot, I looked at my watch and jumped as my phone rang. It was a colleague who had just found out what assignment I was on and wanted to know if she could come “just to meet Salman and take a picture”. And just like the many requests before, I had to decline, as the event was strictly invitation only. The excitement over the star’s arrival had begun long before the day of the interview. In fact, it started a fortnight ago, when the editor announced at a morning meeting that “we have an exclusive with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan”. As we got busy organising the photographer and videographer and sounding out the art team, the emails started pinging. A few die-hard Salman fan colleagues on the floor had got a whiff of the news and wanted to know “if the interviewer would require a lift to the venue?” or “whether the photographer might require some help with the lights?”. Others were more pointed: “Can we please come along? We just want to see him.’’ The scene was no different at home. The moment I mentioned at the dinner table that I would be going to interview Salman Khan, my wife’s jaw – and the plate she was carrying – dropped. “You mean THE Salman Khan,” she gasped, stepping over the broken crockery. I nodded. “Oooh I’m coming along with you,” she declared. My teenage daughter promptly decided that she was bunking school “to see Sallu. I mean, OMG, how can I miss this?”. When I firmly told her that she had to go to school, she pleaded: “OK, but please, please, get me his autograph.” Back in the office the next day, I found a stack of A4 sheets lying on my desk with Post-it notes begging for “Salman’s autograph, please”. I ignored them all as I headed off to meet him, not wanting to be held responsible for spraining the actor’s wrist getting him to sign so many. The moment the lift doors opened on the 13th floor, the Cigar Lounge, two burly guys in tight-fitting dark suits – is it the secret dress code of all private security guards? – came up and wanted to know if they could help me. However, when I flourished my invitation, I was waved through. The lounge was packed with media people and a few guests. Video and still cameras, extra lights, reflectors and paraphernalia littered the floor. In one corner, a woman was frantically touching up her make-up. “I hope he won’t be late. My mascara is beginning to run,” she moaned to the woman beside her. In another corner, someone was pouting into her hand mirror to check if her lipgloss had smudged. Primped and ready, they were awaiting their turn to meet the superstar. Exactly six minutes – the time allotted – after the first journalist entered the meeting room, the doors opened and she emerged smiling. “Oh, Salman was nice. I think he’s in a very good mood,” she cooed to a friend who was awaiting her turn to interview the star. I wanted it to be my turn, glancing at my watch perhaps a dozen times before finally the PR person came over to usher me in. “We scheduled you last so you could have the most time with him,” she whispered. Inside, Salman was busy posing for pictures with a fan. Cameras were clicking furiously as the glare of flashbulbs reflected off the windows overlooking the Burj Khalifa and the dancing fountains. Although it was nearly two hours and more than half a dozen TV and press interviews later, he showed no signs of fatigue. As cheerful and energetic as he was when he came in, the star, sporting a day’s stubble and an engaging smile, was happy to pose and follow Friday photographer Dennis Mallari’s instructions. “Look here,” the cameraman said. “Chin up. That’s right, great.” Shoot over, the journalist who interviewed him before me asked if Salman would pose for a picture with her. “Sure,” he said, smiling. But just before the cameras started clicking he leaned over and whispered something into her ear that left her giggling. As she was leaving I asked her what had transpired. “I wanted to look good in the photograph, so just before the camera clicked I sucked in my stomach,” she said. “I don’t know how he noticed it but he whispered to me ‘You know what? I am doing that too!’ Oh my gosh, he is sooo cute.” The phenomenally popular Bollywood star, who has more female fans than perhaps many stars put together, had clearly notched up one more for life. Picture session over, I extended my hand to the star. Salman’s grip was firm and warm, not the bone crusher that I expected it would be after seeing his powerful muscular arms in several of his movies, including his most recent hit Kick. “Why don’t you sit down?” I asked him as I prepared to shoot off some questions. “No, you sit. I’ll stand. I’ve been sitting all day,” he said, his tone warm and welcoming. Uncomfortable to remain seated while he was standing, I stood up too. I started by asking what he thinks is the reason behind the stupendous success of Kick. After all, the action-romance is his career’s biggest worldwide hit. Creating records of sorts, it crossed the Rs1 billion (about Dh60 million) mark on the fifth day, making Salman the first Bollywood actor to have seven Rs1 billion movies to his credit. “I don’t know, man,” he replied, without batting an eyelid. “Sometimes everything just comes together and a film works. Sometimes it just fails. We make movies so that films do well. But why did it become a hit? I have no idea. Absolutely no idea. “We [film-makers] like to entertain people. We like our success rate. We put in our best in every movie. But the thing is sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.” Does he believe there is a formula for a successful movie? “Oh no, man,” he said. “Nobody knows the formula for a successful film. If people knew the formula for a successful film why would they make a flop? “We always keep thinking that we are making the best film… even up until it releases. But it takes just a few minutes on a Friday when the film is released for us to know if we can rejoice or clasp our heads and say ‘Oh shucks we messed up’. It’s really just in a few seconds that you get to know if the audience has accepted or rejected your film.” The star’s soft black eyes kept panning the room or staring out the windows as he spoke. His gestures are animated as he talks about the thing he clearly loves the most – movies. “We don’t know what films will do well and what films won’t… or at least I don’t know. Some guys may think they know it all but I don’t,” he adds after a long pause. So does he ever watch his own movies? “Oh yes I do.” His voice rising like an excited kid’s. “I sit in on every edit of my film. Every single one. It’s simple: If I get bored with my film how do you think the audience will sit and watch it? So, the moment I feel a certain scene is boring or not suitable, I suggest an edit. I try to keep all scenes to what I feel is the right entertaining length. I see to it that they are not even one minute longer than what they should be. “I believe that the moment a scene starts losing its interest level it becomes a dud. I feel a movie should only be as long as it’s interesting.” Switching from films to TV, I asked him about Bigg Boss, the hugely popular reality show that he hosts. At the end of last season he had left broad hints that he would not want to be associated with the show again. But surprisingly, the star did a U-turn and agreed to host the new season, which kicks off shortly. So did he think twice about returning to Bigg Boss? Salman stared out of the windows for a moment. “I didn’t think twice,” he smiled. “I thought a thousand times. But the thing is that I like the format; I like the show… I don’t deal with just the contestants but with the crew, the production team, everything…” Of course, a deciding factor could have been the fees he reportedly charges. One Indian media report said the star had charged around Rs30 million per week during the last season. And this time around the grapevine had it that he doubled his fees. Would he ever consider being inside the house? His voice rises a few decibels. “Why would I want to do that?” he asked. “I am outside the house and sometimes they [the contestants] drag me inside. But why would I want to stay inside?”. As I prepared to pose my next question, the PR person deftly slipped into my field of vision. Gesturing wildly she suggested I wind up the interview. “He is hungry,” she mimed. While I had been waiting outside, I had heard Salman’s managers make arrangements for the star’s lunch and book a table at a Thai restaurant. But the star himself didn’t seem to be in a hurry to end the interview. One last question, I say, and asked him about his charity initiative, which morphed into Being Human. How did it all begin? “I don’t know how exactly it came about,” he said, the excitement rising in his voice again. After movies, one thing he is clearly passionate about is charity. “I’ve seen my parents do a lot [of charity initiatives]. They used to give a lot to charity. I used to accompany them on several initiatives. We used to do a lot for cataract patients, the homeless, poor… But I realised it needed to be more organised. So now we give the money to a school or hospital or institution. “But Being Human... I don’t know how it really came about. I don’t even know how the name came along. I remember seeing a T-shirt on which was written human being and I actually ulta kiya [turned it around, in Hindi] and said to myself ‘being human’. It sounded nice. That’s when I thought the charity should have the name Being Human. I remember calling my sister [Alvira Agnihotri] and telling her I think I got the name for our charity trust.” Salman set up Being Human: The Salman Khan Foundation, in 2007. It works to help the needy in the areas of education and health care. Proceeds from the sale of the Being Human merchandise go towards this foundation. So where does he see Being Human going? “Let’s see. Good things make their own future. It is now capable enough to make its own future. It is possible for it to scale new heights. It’s really an amazing charity and I am not saying this because it is our charity trust; it’s really everybody’s… yours, mine... “The fact that the name – Being Human – is so attractive, it remains in your mind. You may not think about it now, but some day when you think about a human being, you’ll think about Being Human and will want to do something that is about being human. “And that action will change you, your personality... it will make you be human. This should become like a cult, a philosophy. I think Being Human should become the biggest cult in the world.” One last question, I plead, even as the PR person is fretting, and asked him about his Canadian venture Dr Cabbie, which is supposed to hit the screens this month. “It’s an Indian story told in a foreign way,” he said. “Directed by a French director, it has a great star cast including Isabelle Kaif, [Katrina Kaif’s sister], Vinay Virmani, Lilette Dubey, Adrianne Palicki among others. “It’s got a good plot – about a cab driver who comes upon a lady who is about to deliver. He takes her into the car and helps her deliver the baby but complications happen… it’s an interesting, nice romantic story.” I wanted to launch into another “last question” but the PR person insisted it’s getting late. A two-minute photoshoot later the superstar was off, chaperoned by the burly security guys to the Thai restaurant at the hotel. As I left, I saw a couple, with the woman carrying a baby. They had been waiting for nearly four hours in the lobby just to see the star, I was told. The woman was all smiles. “I got a picture with Sallu,” I heard her yelling into her phone. The excitement, it’s clear, just never stops when Salman is in town. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in Dubai
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 04:13:36 +0000
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