Not in the box office race: Salman Khan

Salman Khan doesn’t believe in breaking box-office records, but definitely wants his films to fare well.

Bollywood Superstar Salman Khan isn’t all about the money. This in itself is surprising, as he comes from an industry where a film is judged entirely based on its box-office earnings. While Khan doesn’t run after ridiculous profits, he believes that producers, distributors and exhibitors of his film should not lose money.

“I just don’t want my films to be a flop because that would mean my thinking is going wrong and that would be the worst thing. I don’t care about the Rs 200-300 [crore club]. I don’t want to be a part of this number game. I am there [in that bracket] but it is not like I want to break that record. I want to make a good film. As long as my films run and make decent money, I am happy,” Salman said in an interview, according to Times of India.

Salman Khan famously opts for movie roles which are more which burden on the absurd. “Now you call it bakwaas (mindless) cinema or whatever but that is the kind of cinema I want to do because that is the kind of cinema I have seen. As a kid I have gone to theaters, stood on chairs, whistled for the heroes,” he said.

“Movies should be such that if a hero has fallen down audience should feel the urge to scream and say ‘get up’. You come out of the theatre... you want to be the hero. That is the feeling you should get,” the 48-year-old actor added.

Khan brings his own childhood experiences on screen. It seems as if he strives to be the hero he himself as a child rooted for on screen. The Indian superstar also wants ticket prices to go down, to make movies accessible to a larger bracket of the population. “It is in the hands of the theater owners and distributors. We want to get it (ticket prices) down,” he said.

Salman Khan’s friend and fellow Bollywood superstar, Aamir Khan, once said the Dabangg star bulldozes logic with his unrealistic films. On this, Salman says, “Aamir and I do different kind of cinema. My cinema is more about going to the theaters, whistling, enjoying. And within that space I do and say whatever I have to.”

“I think the only reason a film would do well is because it is emotionally correct,” he added. Salman Khan’s first offering of 2014 will be Jai Ho, directed by his brother Sohail Khan. The movie will also feature newcomer Daisy Shah, Tabu, Suniel Shetty, Danny Denzongpa and others.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.

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