Ready to face the young guns

Salman Khan endorses budding talent and talks about keeping up with juniors

GURGAON: Salman Khan is at the top of the Bollywood game with back-to-back hits to his credit, but he says an actor’s life comes with “different challenges”. With a brigade of young actors proving their courage in the film industry, the superstar says he is now faced with the challenge of being “better than the juniors.”

And even though he’s among the fittest of the fit stars in the film fraternity, the 49-year-old actor added that the quest to match up with the new lot with their fitness level is “ten times more difficult” than his initial days in the industry.

“The challenges (of our profession) changes with time. So at every given point it’s going to change,” said Salman in an interview.

“Initially, our journey was to be better than the seniors. Today, our journey is to be better than the juniors! We thought that was difficult, but today at our age, to be as fit and to be as agile as the juniors, is ten times more difficult,” added Salman, who is now also backing new talent.

He is introducing actors Aditya Pancholi’s son Sooraj and Suniel Shetty’s daughter Athiya to Bollywood via his production Hero, a remake of Subhash Ghai’s 1983 film. He was in New Delhi suburb to promote the film, which is releasing on September 11.

Salman, who will also be seen hosting reality TV show Bigg Boss 9 later this year, shares a close relationship with Sooraj and Athiya.

“They call me Salman sir, but it doesn’t mean that I’m a teacher. I’m their elder brother, who is only getting younger,” quipped the actor, whose own journey in filmdom began with Biwi Ho To Aisi in 1988, and came into the spotlight following his act as Prem in the love saga Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989.

Having tried multiple action, romantic and comedy roles, in the past few years, Salman has hit the bull’s eye at the box office with projects like Dabangg, Kick, Ek Tha Tiger and his last release Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Competition, Salman said, has always been part of the film business.

“There was always a number game (in terms of box office collections). Earlier it was in weeks, today it is in days and in numbers. The challenge whether your next film will be better than your last film or whose film is going to do better, will always be there... and it will make you work hard,” he said.

Salman, who has Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Sultan in his kitty, added that all the emerging actors will also “face the same challenge someday”.

For Hero, he has stood by the debutants like a rock. He has crooned its title track, and even contributed to the film’s editing.When asked why he didn’t act in the film he said the Nikhil Advani directorial “didn’t have any role for a younger brother in the film!”  

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th,  2015.

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