If he reaches the top position, that crown would sit uncomfortably on his head. Salman Khan has always maintained through his attitude, work or his demeanour that he didn’t care for any positions or titles. But looks like even the otherwise brattish Khan has ended up with something that he hadn’t accounted for. Dabangg has created such records that it might just end up being the most successful films in Salman Khan’s career.
But if you see closely this success didn’t happen with a bang in Salman’s life, as it would seem like. It was just the fitting finale to a slow reel that had been unspooling for a while now. A while since Salman Khan altered his own policies of privacy and changed his attitude towards the media. For decades, Salman hid behind a rough, aggressive mask, shooing away photographers, taking digs at journalists and generally trying to portray this I-don’t-care-a-damn image. Even though few of his close friends sang paeans of praise in his glory, Salman never bothered to explain or justify any of his actions. Take me or leave me, was his stance and as expected, he was left more than taken.
And one fine day, as dramatically as it would get, he turned over a new leaf. Some say it was his experience in jail after the black buck incident that made Salman realise that he will need support at some point or other. Some say it was his pleasant experience with interacting with various people in Dus Ka Dum that made him come out of his shell. Whatever the reason, the man came out and shone. He dropped that mask to show an absolutely endearing personality. He showed that he could laugh and cry with you, if he felt for you. He was never the star, he was just a stud who was perhaps a little smarter, funnier and of course better looking than your average Joe.
Trade pundits like Amod Mehra think that this humongous hit has finally made Salman a superstar. Mehra says, “ He has jumped to the number 2 position, pushing SRK to 3rd position. Salman has risen like a phoenix after two miserable duds, Veer and Main Aur Mrs Khanna.”
“It is obvious by now that people just love Salman the way he is. Whenever he has played a brattish role, like in Tere Naam, Wanted or Dabangg, its been accepted very well. The man is no actor but his star power is fantastic.”
Film-maker Subhash Ghai who not long ago worked with Salman, says "Salman is the coolest star I have met. He is never affected by his superhits or flops...He has been here for 22 years. His love and respect for film-makers remains the same, if they have given him blockbusters or flops. He values good human beings, himself being one. I love him for that."
However, ad gurus are still not convinced if brand Salman can really oust brand Shah Rukh Khan. Prahlad Kakkar, Adman, says, “For the longest time SRK has enjoyed the greatest brand value among all the three Khans and strangely enough continues to do so. But currently Salman Khan is big but he doesn’t not take too much on his plate and nor does Aamir. In fact, I strongly believe that advertisers have not positioned Salman right. He has this ‘bad boy’ appeal. And he is extremely popular among women. But this image has not been used properly by the ad guys.” Prasoon Pandey, ad filmmaker, says “It is difficult to rank who has bigger brand value among the three Khans. I think that the brand which will opt for Aamir may not opt for Salman. But SRK is demanded by brands from a wide spectrum. As he is the one who is loved by people across all ages. Even when it comes to movies, SRK is still a more popular star so ad world is a direct rub off of what happens in the movie industry. But we can’t deny the fact that Salman at present is on top of everybody’s mind, thanks to Dabangg Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, says, “I will have to say that SRK is the biggest amongst the three Khans. SRK has enjoyed this position for long and I guess will continue to do so, as he has a wider audience acceptance. Salman seems to be more popular among youngsters and women. And also right now, Salman is doing better. But I guess post the Dabangg fever, SRK will be back to number one."
With inputs from Riddhi Doshi.
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