#tubelight text interview

[salmankhanholics]

★ “I don’t want my mother’s name attached to anything which is like mediocre..”-Salman Khan !

Amul Vikas Mohan | June 24, 2017

If there is one actor in the industry who doesn’t need an introduction it has to be Salman Khan. Salman can’t do anything wrong these days even if he tried. He has seen a sensational rise and rise in his industry standing and with every new movie he breaks records like they’re absolutely nothing. He has also now gotten synonymous with the festive cheer in the country be it Eid, Diwali or Christmas; especially Eid. This year he is back with another mega film on Eid i.e. TUBELIGHT. I met the actor in a rather relaxed mood just a week prior to his release in a suburban posh hotel and spoke about everything TUBELIGHT. Read on for the excerpts.

First thing first, how is the response you’ve been getting from the trailer and songs?

It’s phenomenal. I’ve never got this response in the longest time, David Dhawan, Sajid Nadiadwala who has been in this commercial cinema for the longest time has send me messages – saying they have loved the chemistry and it’s such a beautiful song; it started from “Radio”, then “Naach Meri Jaan”, and then I think it’s come to “Main Agar”. So I think everyone just loves the chemistry, the vibe of the film. And in all these years you get messages like looking good, stylish, this movie is going to be a hit, but this kind of feedback we have never got.

So why do you think it is because of the script or the camaraderie that you and Sohail share?

It’s always the script and because of the script when we two real brothers in the film that connect comes in really strong. And even though it was a guest appearance earlier which was about 35 to 40 days which we requested for some big star to do it but what would happen there was the realism and the charm would go away. So we were really worried in this also that Sohail is working with me but it’s not at all like that, and now it’s because of Sohail that the film’s look, the chemistry between us, like how we are at home; people get to see us onscreen like that. So the comfort level is there, the emotions are real, there’s no performance orientated scenes out here, it’s just that if he’s not there with me in any scenes or any fun scenes when he goes out to the war. When he’s not there with me but he is there in back of my mind that my brother (Sohail) has gone to fight a war , that automatically used to get me into tears and I was waiting for him to come back. So that is really good decision that Kabir took that we should take Sohail in the film.

This is the third time you are working with Kabir khan ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, ‘Bajarangi Bhaijaan’, so what kind of comfort level you have made with him now?

When we are working together it’s always been the script, if the script is good we work together. So the first script was ‘Ek ThaTiger’ then came Bajarangi Bhaijaan’ and if this wasn’t a better film than ‘Bajarangi Bhaijaan’; perhaps we wouldn’t have done this film. But this turned out to be much better – emotionally, screenplay wise than ‘Bajarangi Bhaijaan’ in our eyes. And now the response we are getting from this film and also some seem to believe that, this film is going to do really well so we have lucked out on this subject. And so it’s always the script and once you are done with the script. It’s a smooth sailing film that happens to you, it’s all organic.

And now you found that comfort level with him as a filmmaker also because sometimes he might have some weakness?

No we have all that but it’s always for the film for example if the scene is stretched so just cut a bit or if I’m going overboard in the scene so he will tell me and correct me so all these things keep happening.

This film is also a remake if I’m not wrong?

This film which Kabir had seen the ‘Little Boy’ in television or somewhere is basically not a remake but its inspired from it, so the best thing to do was to get the rights; so there’s no confusion in it of being similar or no. And Kabir had also seen some whisky Ad, so he had some visuals from there, and he had this plot but didn’t know where fit it. So once he got this reference then we picked up the Indo- China war; and the beauty of the film is that he just wants the war to get over. And that Chinese jawans go back to their family and our jawans come back to our family, it’s the most positive thought and that – this war should just comes to an end.

“I don’t want my mother’s name attached to anything which is like mediocre”

Kabir Khan had said earlier in an interview that in this film we will see a Salman Khan which we haven’t seen before, in this we will see Salman do with off all his innovation , all his screen swagger and all of that so how easy was it for you to pick on that?

In today’s time if I had to do this film I wouldn’t have pull it off till the time I didn’t go through the time I was growing up, when I was 12- 13 years old, when there was a lot of innocence, a lot of vulnerability; so I had to tap that side of myself, and that is what I did. And then there is one kid Satya who I really love, Mahesh Manjrekar kid, he is the simplest boy like ever with the best smile; so I took bits and potions from him and then my body Double his name is Praveez, he’s like the most gentle person there is , so he’s there and stands in for shots and long shots for marking and all of that ‘ so he has been a very big help for me because he is the nicest, sharif, tameezdar boy that I came across. So I had to take little bit of these things and put it up in my character. The most important thing was the walk of the character, the run of the character, so once I got the run then the way I spoke also came in because it’s very important that you walk and you talk the character to play that character. So that was it and then the setting helped me, the costumes were designed in such a way so they also helped.

And what do you have to say about records you are known to break them anytime you come in?

Theatres are increasing, population is increasing, and ticket pricing is increasing so these records in a good film we will be able to break them but if we don’t break them then the prayer is just that it shouldn’t be at least a disaster so that no one loses any money. Because it’s a long journey, a year and half year journey and everyone has put in their blood and sweat, so much creativity that has put in from all different departments, so it really hurts when something is not appreciated and then everyone suffers, the industry also suffers so we have to be very careful when you sign a film.

This is your production and you also have a set of responsibility on this as well?

Yeah the most important responsibility is that my mother has produced the film so I don’t want my mother’s name attached to anything which is like mediocre so it’s like one of the better films that I have done, now when the film will release on the 23rd we will know how well the film has done or not; eventually the final verdict is going to be by the fans who are going to go to theatres and watch the movie.

What’s next for you right now?

Next film for me is Tiger Zinda Hai, which is going to release in December.

You have already shot most of it?

No, we are shooting it now after IIFA, I go and shoot for Tiger Zinda Hai; we have shot quite a bit of it and then after that will come Remo’s film and then a film with Ali, which we are producing and then Dabaang 3.

There’s also news about ‘Kick 2’ next year?

Kick 2 I don’t know yet but whenever Sajid is ready with the script will do. Every time he comes up with something and then he sees a film which is an outstanding film and he needs to better it; so right now he had something and he said if we got to make Kick 2 then we got to make it something bigger.

What about your own production house, last you did was ‘Hero’ a couple of years ago then you didn’t do anything other than you in the lead?

So we are doing that right now, we are starting a lot of films right now so we were basically working on scripts till now because the most important thing is scripts, now we got our 7 – 8 scripts ready which are fabulous; so now slowly we’ll start. Because I don’t think just because we have a production company we should do any rubbish, the hero of the film will always be the script for us and we’ll always concentrate on that, so we have got a few scripts so will start the casting and synopsis and stuff.

super cinema

[newindianexp-blog]

Good deed is looked at with more suspicion than a bad deed: Salman Khan

Salman Khan talks about how Bollywood needs to up its game, now that South Indian films and Hollywood films are giving us a tough competition. And how destiny played big part in him being where he is. Excerpts of an interview

You seem to be making smart choices, films rich in content....

Actually, people are writing better and better. Writers come to me with better choices of script. Ones that I like, I pick it up. I am glad they choose to come to me, they could have gone to anyone. I didn’t have much of a choice earlier. If fifteen terrible scripts came to me, I had to choose the best among them. You choose the one you think has some potential and try to make the most of it.

Your personality seems to have mellowed down over the years. And maybe scripts are written to go with that....

This is how I am since I was in school. Then I changed a bit. This character has shades of me when I was growing up, Now I am like that again. It took a lot of digging into my memories, going back to childhood to play this character (in Tubelight). Now I remember all that we used to do, and what my brothers and friends used to do....Touch wood. I am blessed with good memory. I remember things I should remember (laughing) and forget things I shouldn’t.

Selective memory? Is that possible?

Yes it is. I erase memories that are not worth keeping with me. When I was in school, given the education system that we have, there was lot of mugging up to do. I would forget all that I mugged up as soon as I finished writing that paper. That must be the biggest mistake of my life. I used to think Maths is boring, Geography is boring, History is boring....but now they all coming back to me, and i need to know certain things. You need to, especially if you are in the movie business.

You have google for everything. That time we didn’t have that luxury....

Yes, but at that time you would go into a library and check for things. That was lot more fun, and it made you remember longer because it took efforts. Ab kya hai. Google uncle pe jaao, aur sab nikaal lo. I don’t know how to do that though. I ask someone else to google things for me, if I need some information. I am not good with technology, I am not good with phones. The maximum I do is call. I know how to receive calls, send and receive text messages and (laughing) oh yes, I know how to delete those messages.

You think we have become too complacent?

I think so. More than that I think we are scared that itne me bikegi toh itne me hi picture banaana chahiye. Films are not supposed to be made like that. But then again, you make that one odd film with full conviction, not thinking about budget etc and God forbid,if it is a disaster, it affects everyone, the distributor, the producer, your partners. Everyone loses money. I think if theatres increase, budgets also will increase.

Yes, you have been saying this for a while now. It is important. We have only about 8000 screens, China has about 40 thousand screens....

Having said that, there are films like Baahubali which make humungous profit, in spite of the limited screens. People go back to watch it again and again....

Yes, that’s true. Look at movies like Sholay and Mughal-e-Azam. They went on for ten years. So if a movie is great, business is fantastic.

Taking off on your character in Tubelight, are there still things you are slow on the uptake about?

[salmankhanholics]

★ “Om Puri ji has a big and BEAUTIFUL role in Tubelight” – Salman Khan !

Faridoon ShahryarJun 16, 2017 

Salman Khan is an icon. At any point of time there are thousands of fans waiting to get a glimpse of him. But when you meet him, he’s an absolutely simple man who’s extremely approachable and makes sure that you’re at ease in his enormous presence. He has been actively promoting his next film Tubelight, directed by Kabir Khan who was the brain behind the heartwarming Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Tubelight promos are promising another emotional story that can have a connect across the board. Salman Khan along with Sohail Khan in a Bollywood Hungama exclusive conversation with Faridoon Shahryar talks in detail about what makes the film and their bonding so special. They also talk about Om Puri sahib who is part of the film. Salman’s eyes turned moist when he spoke about Om Ji.

“Yeh jung ek roz khatam hogi bas yakeen jalaaye rakhna hoga.” It’s a very important dialogue in the film Tubelight. Not only for the context of the film but also for what is happening across the world. What is the relevance of this particular dialogue in this film?

Salman: War according to me is a waste of time, money and life. When a family member goes for War there is only one prayer hoping that may this war ends soon and may they go back to their families, their wife, parents, children, and their siblings. That’s why it’s a very relevant dialogue. Aur yeh dialogue kitne sadiyo se chalta aa raha hai. Dua karte hain ki aage yeh na chale. I hope that everyone’s Yakeen (Belief) itna strong ho jaaye so that we can sit across table and and sort all issues the way we do business deals.

Before the war sequence, you tell your family “I’ll be back soon” without knowing what you’re getting into, what it means to lead the life of a soldier. How did you approach this character?

Sohail: We come from a small village called Jagatpur. We hear at the radio that India and China are going through some conflict. And Indian government is going to small towns to recruit Jawans. Toh tab hum sabko pata lagta hai ki whoever is capable, would have to join the army and fight for the country. Lekin kyu lad rahe hai kis liye lad rahe hai,yeh kisiko pata nahin. But yes there is an excitement because we all are really patriotic about the fact that we have got an opportunity to be part of the Indian forces, to serve our country. I get to know that I have been selected but my elder brother hasn’t been selected. Then I have to leave for a brief training and then head towards the sensitive areas. So that happens in the beginning of the film.

Salman: A brother leaves and the other brother stays back. Story is that Chacha Nehru didn’t want the war to happen but still the war happens (between India and China). We have a few soldiers while the opposition has far more so we don’t stand a chance. Aisa laga tha ki army mein chala jayega, 3 saal service karega aur phir aake bhai ko protect karega. Ek toh army ki bhi naukri mil gayi aur phir 5 saal baad chhod bhi diya toh pension se apne bhai ko sambhal payega. But here the war starts. All hell breaks loose. And then 2 Chinese come in their village. That is Zhu Zhu and Matin. And all the villagers hate them that why these Chinese have come here. They (Chinese) are killing our brothers and you are supporting them. But they are not Chinese; they are Indians who had been living here for a long time. It is their own country but since they look like Chinese and had been living in India for the last three generations but the atmosphere in the village is very hostile. So how the whole story comes in, it’s a beautifully woven story. Jaise Bajrangi ki story yeh thi k ek aadmi jisko pata chalta hai ke bachchi Pakistan se hai aur usse bolne nahi aata, isse Pakistan chodke aana hai. But the way screenplay is woven, it’s a different thing altogether. Line toh story ki yehi hoti hai par jis tareeke se usse weave karna hai, kis tareh usse pirona hai, humor, comedy, action woh important hai.

What you’re saying is wonderful, but do you feel that labeling of people because of their nationality is bad? Ultimately humanity is lost in the whole process.

How can anyone have control on the fact that where he/ she will be born!

From whatever you have done so far in the past as an actor, how significant is this movie for you?

Sohail: It’s a beautiful role and I am very fortunate to have a platform like this. Salman bhai heard the script first, then my father heard it and while the narration was on Kabir himself told that I don’t have much time to establish the brother’s character. So if I take real brothers they will connect with audience instantly. I think that has paid off because now when we watch the film, we feel audience doesn’t have to go through that journey.

Salman: We don’t have to do that establishment ki yeh bhai hain, bachpan se leke jawani tak unki bonding establish karne woh dikh jaata hai ki yeh acting kar rahe hai par jo bachpan se leke aaj tak bhai hai  par sab ko pata hai ki Sohail mera chhota bhai hai woh instant ek connect aa jaata hai.

How important is ‘Tinka Tina’ song? We have seen in Bajrangi Bhaijaan the importance of emotional songs and how if you can have that connect it works very well with the audience. How important is the emotional quotient?

Salman: It is very important. If you don’t involve with the audience and don’t excite them what’s the point. They smile with you, they laugh with you, they cry with you. So once all these three emotions come with you on screen, then you have nothing to worry about. Koi picture aake aise he dekh raha hai aur uska connect nahi toh woh picture kabhi nahin chalegi. So when you watch the movie and you see all this happen to these boys, that really touches you.

I spoke to Kabir Khan this morning and he said that this is Salman’s best performance by miles. How do you react to something like that?

Salman: Every film I have heard this (laughs) Kharaab picture ke liye bhi bolte hain aise.

There was a time in the recent past when you were delivering blockbuster after blockbuster but with Bajrangi Bhaijaan you broke the image as it was antithetical of your style. No one had seen you like that. No shirtless scenes, very limited action and in Tubelight the guy can’t fight for sure. 

Salman: When you do a period war film based in 1962, the three main things that take you back in that time are costumes, art director and D.O.P (director of photography). These three are the main people that make you believe that aap 1962 mein hai. A whole lot of research went in the look. Alvira, Ashley and Lipakshi have done that. Lipakshi has done everybody else’s clothes. Mine and Sohail’s costume have been designed by Alvira and Ashley. Aseem Mishra who has done Ek tha Tiger, Bajrangi Bhaijaan with me has also been a huge plus point. He is huge plus point for me and Kabir, very fast and he really has good temperament. Then art director has done a fabulous job too. He is the same guy who did Kick, Sultan and Bajrangi Bhaijaan with me. He actually has put up all these sets that we see in the songs. It is one of the largest set anyone has ever put up. It’s larger than basti that we put up in Sultan. It is about 3 and half acres of pakka solid set. You could keep the set standing there for 20 years and nothing will happen to it. These are the people very responsible for the look of the film. Also the people who set thing up there, the props etc. That is how the world is created. If the research was not done well, this detailing wouldn’t have been possible.

This is also Om Puri Ji’s last film and you had the privilege of sharing screen space with him. How was that experience?

Sohail: It was my first film with him and we have all known him as a fabulous actor. But I genuinely believe that he was a fabulous actor because he was a fabulous human being. He was a very good guy. I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with him and it’s very sad what has happened. Tubelight will be remembered more for him than anything else.

Salman: We had a great time. I have done about 7 – 8 films with him. He was a fabulous man and I loved him. I saw a change happening in him. He started losing his balance in Bajrangi. I used to keep on telling him yahan pe jab aap chal rahe ho, dhyaan do aapka jo stance hai There are wires and trolleys here, be careful. You know kya karte hai carpet bicha dete hain aur carpet ubarkhaabad ho jaata hai. Toh I had seen this change from Bajrangi till now. He almost used to trip and that was my biggest fear. It was really sad when everything happened. I was travelling outdoors when I heard about the news.  But when I saw the rushes of the film for the first time and I felt bad. If somebody was home this wouldn’t have happened and he would have been with us here giving interviews. And when I saw the film I felt he hasn’t gone anywhere. He is there with us.

His role is bigger than that of Bajrangi Bhaijaan?

Salman:  Much bigger and it’s a beautiful role. And he completed the film.

bollywood hungama

[salmankhanholics]

★ Exclusive Interview: Salman Khan is an epitome of machismo, says Kabir Khan !

Mohnish Singh - June 22, 2017

Kabir Khan, who started his directorial career with Kabul Express in 2006, has today established himself as a consistently successful filmmaker in Bollywood. Though most of his films have performed well at the ticket window, his films with Salman Khan, like Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ have worked wonders at the ticket window as well as garnered critical acclaim. Now, the blockbuster duo is all set for their next outing Tubelight, set to release this Friday. BollywoodMDB.com reporter, Mohnish Singh, catches up with the actor to find more about the film and much more. Excerpts…

What do you like most about your film Tubelight?

It’s my film, so I like everything about it. Anyway, one thing which I really like about Tubelight is the honesty in it. Salman (Khan) has put in a lot of efforts in this film. This is my third movie with him. During Ek Tha Tiger, Salman was very blaze. He was like ‘I have done everything; now I don’t need to prove anything to anyone’. In Bajrangi Bhaijaan, he recognized the character and decided to play it consistently. I think Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s character came very easily to him, because he is inherently a very charming person in real life as well. But in Tubelight, things were quite difficult. Here, he is playing a character which a bit off. Basically, he is playing a man-child. While playing such character an actor can easily to over the top. But Salman ensured that he does not do that. See, Salman comes with a baggage; he is an epitome of machismo. Everything macho about a hero is Salman Khan. He had to get rid of that baggage and then convince the audience about his character in this film. For him, it was doubly difficult, but I must say that as a director I was really surprised by what he brought to the table. There are lot of things, lot of scenes in the film where I, as a director, won’t even take credit for his performance. I have not over directed him at all in the film. He has brought it on his own.

How much freedom do you give to an actor, especially if that actor happens to be a superstar like Salman Khan?

I give full freedom to all my actors. I don’t believe in over direction at all. I don’t do workshop sessions beyond a point; because I feel the kind of spontaneity which is generated on the set can never occur in a closed room. When I sit down for reading sessions with my actors, I am the first one to get bored, because you never get what you want on sets in reading. Reading is just to understand the world of the film. As a director, I always believe that the first take that an actor gives should be without any direction because every actor approaches a character in his own way. This way, an actor brings something which you never thought of. It’s only after the first take that I step in if I need to step in. So, basically, I just lay down the context of the scene and the character and make sure that everything happens within the limit.

What do you have to say about the young kid Matin Rey Tangu who hails from Arunachal Pradesh?

Arunachal Pradesh is an extremely under-represented area of our country, not just in films, but in every field. I am glad that we have got a beautiful talent like Matin from Arunachal Pradesh. This is a big film, a big platform. People will watch him. I think now we have come out of that zone where there used to be only one type of actor, one type of character and certain kind of look. I think now the audience feel more excited when new faces prop up on screen every now and then. We did the same thing in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Except Salman Khan, the whole world was new in the film. I believe the audience watches a film to see the star, but supporting cast adds the credibility to the whole world created for the screen. They make the world more believable. So, we are very glad that we bought a child artist like Matin all the way from Itanagar. All credit goes to Mukesh Chabra. I think he has a great knack for spotting talent. He spotted Harshali Malhotra, now Matin. I am really happy that we could get a talent like him.

What is the most important thing for you when you decide to make a film, a great story or big stars?

It’s always a story. I thing story is always important. If the story is not good, no film can work. Our audience has time and again proved that if you don’t serve them a good story, they won’t accept your film no matter how many big stars you have cast in the movie. The definition of conventional cinemas has changed a lot over the years. Earlier, a Hindi film needed to justify certain parameters, but now it’s not necessary. Did you see any love story, high-octane action, or lip-synched songs in Dangal? No. Still, it is the highest grossing film of Indian cinema. It just shows the story is king. Bajrangi Bhaijaan is the antitheses of a Salman Khan film. The conventionalism of his films is that they shout have superb action, beautiful locations and songs. But Bajrangi Bhaijaan had nothing. It’s a story of a small kid. There is no love story. Kareena Kapoor plays a very small role in it. Still, it is one of the biggest films till date. So, the audience has just proved that they are going for a story. Yes, a superstar will get a wider appeal, with bigger numbers initially. But if the story is not good, the audience will run away fast.

All your films talk about two countries and their relationship with each other. Is there any particular reason for weaving your stories around two nations?

I never designed that on purpose. It just happens, maybe because of my backdrop as a documentary filmmaker. I have worked a lot on international politics. There is a renowned journalist in New Delhi who I have worked with a lot. I have visited around 60-70 countries with him, doing news, features, and documentary features. This helped me broaden my horizon. Then you realize that the news which you listen to is not always correct. When you go down to the ground reality, you realize it is a totally different story. BBC and CNN are telling something else, but the reality is totally different from that. I was always fascinated by all this. If you see a lot of my films align a gap, a gap which is between a story told to us and a story which should have been told to us. My stories lie in that gap. I always make sure that my stories have a real backdrop. So, somehow, this backdrop of two countries creeps into my stories all the time.

This is your third film with Salman Khan after two blockbusters like Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. How do you end up roping in him for almost all your films?

(Laughs) I think it is because of the comfort level that we share with each other. Earlier, we had done two films together, so we are much familiar with each other’s working style, due to which it takes less time on the set. If we are discussing something, I know how will he approach the character and he knows what exactly I want in the scene.

What do you like most about him?

I think he wears his heart on his sleeves. Whatever is there in his mind, it manifests on his face. He never has hidden agendas. He is very clean at heart. One thing I really like about him is that he is always concerned about the crew. He makes sure that everyone is alright, living conditions are good and everyone gets good food.

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[salmankhanholics]

★ DANCING WITH A STAR !

Monday, 19 June 2017 | Aakriti Narang

Choreographer Shabina Khan talks about Naach Meri Jaan, brothers Salman and Sohail as dancers and the challenges involved in creating the catchy yet magical signature step with Aakriti Narang

Shabina Khan has been choreographing for superstar Salman Khan since the days of Dabangg and says the sessions are all about shared pleasure and meaningful pursuits. “Each time I’ve worked with him, I’ve felt that he has become a better actor, a better dancer and a better person,” she tells us.

Shabina has choreographed Naach Meri Jaan in Tubelight. There are only three songs in this film; Radio was done by Remo D’Souza, Naach Meri Jaan was done by her and Tinka Tinka is the director’s song. “A lot of sections of Tinka Tinka are linked to my song. Naach Meri Jaan, as a song, takes the storyline forward. It portrays the relationship between the two brothers with special reference to how they make food for each other, eat together, play together, cycle together, go to the market, the village together and  dance together. They enjoy their lives together. This song comes at the beginning of the movie and it showcases all the characters in the film. Tinka Tinka was shot by Kabir Khan and is very closely linked to this song, but it is a director’s song. It’s the background song.”

This is not the first time that Khan is working with Salman Khan. Prior to Tubelight, she has worked with him in Dabangg, Jai Ho and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. On working with Salman, she says, “Every day on set is a learning experience. I have been working with Salman ever since I have been doing film choreography. It’s been a long time. In terms of dance, I truly believe that he has his own style of dancing. I call it the ‘Salman Khan dance’. When practising for Naach Meri Jaan, he was very energetic, he loved the signature movements that I had created and as usual he didn’t rehearse much for the song. Normally, he doesn’t rehearse much for songs. He practises two or three times on set and then goes in for the final shot; he’s very quick in that sense.”

The amount of time it takes to choreograph a song really varies, depending upon when it appears in the film, the characters present for the duration of the song and its contribution to the overall movement of the storyline. As for Naach Meri Jaan, Shabina says, “This song took a long time to create because its context was very vast. Technically speaking, I had to work a lot on this song. Behind all the hunky-dory fun that you see going on in the song, a lot of effort had to be put in from the technical perspective. We were shooting in 2017 a song that was set in 1962. Hence, there is not much material available about villages, the lives of people or prevalent dance forms at that time. I had to do lot of research in this regard. I met Kabir Khan, understood from him what he wanted from the song and went through the whole script of the film. The song is a very important part of the film so I had to work hard.

“Another reason why it was difficult for me was because of the characters of Salman and Sohail, who are not typical heroes. So I couldn’t give them a glamorous entry, riding a bike with wind flowing in their hair. The film is very realistic. So making a step for Salman’s character was very different from making a step for Sohail on account of their different characters.”

How can we forget Salman Khan’s overwhelming fans and their soaring high expectations? In relation to this, Khan elaborates: “Also, one of the greatest factors to take into consideration was Salman Khan’s immense fan following that is naturally desirous of a signature step. They will then copy this step themselves. So taking into account Salman sir’s fan following was very important. Apart from adhering to the character types, I also had to make sure the signature step was something very modern even though it is set in the past. This was quite challenging. There are two signature steps in this song.”

Shabina prepared meticulously to make her numbers a big success. “Before showing Salman our steps, we rehearse for three, four or even seven days. We have to be ready with around four or five signature steps. In case he doesn’t like the first one, we present the other options. Sometimes what happens is that he likes the beginning of one step and the ending of another. In that case, we combine the two steps together.”

Tubelight will be the first film after Veer in which the two brothers are seen shaking a leg together. When it comes to who is the better dancer, Shabina says, “They are both great dancers in their own respect. It is not true that they can’t dance. They’re both good dancers and their steps look good on their body type. In an effort to better understand the two protagonists, I tried to put myself in their characters’ shoes. My younger brother has started working as my Assistant Choreographer. Therefore, I applied the song to my own relationship with my brother. We both sat down and evaluated how brothers and sisters, or siblings more generally, behave with each other.” For two days, she tried to get into the zone of the song with her brother before they began choreographing.

She recalls a funny incident: “There is a musical beat that goes as follows: chamma chayi, chamma chayi, chammak chammak chayi. The music is of Pahadi origin. I was choreographing those beats for the song and I did it on the spot, on set. The shoot for the song took place in Kullu Manali and I was trying to do that one typical step. The dancers were copying me. When I completed the step, I looked up to see Salman sir, Sohail sir watching me. They too joined in and I had everybody dancing to my steps. Even people from the camera department, the Assistant Directors, female fans of Salman who were standing on the railings laughed and clapped. The love the audience has for Salman Khan just radiates everywhere.”

As for the other song in the film, Shabina says there was no sense of competition with Remo D’Souza. “We were in our own zones. As choreographers, we see the bigger picture. If our song does well, the movie does well and vice versa. So when the film does well, we know that we did well too. Radio is a great song.”

She began her own journey as a dancer through the encouragement of her mother. However, she did not stop studying simultaneously. “Then at one point I had realised that the money I earned through dance was majorly supporting my family. Initially I had assisted Ganesh Acharya. I worked with him for five years and I loved what I did. Then I assisted Prabhudeva for a year. I did one song with Saroj Khan. I’ve learnt dance from Saroj Khan and Madhuri Dixit. I loved their nakhras. At the age of seven, according to me there was only one choreographer in the Indian film industry who’s name was Saroj Khan. For my younger sister and I, Saroj Khan was the best and we wanted to be like her. I never got the chance to work with her for more than a song but that one song that I did with her was the best song of my life. I would call myself the combination of Ganesh Acharya, Prabhudeva and Saroj Khan.”

She describes her approach to choreography as follows: “Dance and choreography are two sides of the same coin. Personally, whenever I get a song to choreograph, I like to dance on it myself. Alone, in a room I go crazy.”

the pioneer

[salmankhanholics]

★ Salman Khan's 'Tubelight': Indian Distributor NH Studioz Interview !

Don Groves |  JUN 8, 2017

For a company that launched just two years ago, Indian distributor and post production house NH Studioz took a big risk when it outbid other players for the all-India theatrical distribution rights to Salman Khan’s Tubelight.

However NH Studioz director Shreyans Hirawat is supremely confident about the Kabir Khan-directed drama set during the 1962 Sino-Indian war, which launches worldwide on June 23.

“The festival of Eid has seen some of the biggest Salman Khan movie releases year after year ,” he told me. “The response of the audience to the trailer and songs has been phenomenal. The exact number of screens has not been finalized yet but the audience can expect Tubelight to be the biggest release of 2017.”

Hirawat is delighted with the break-out performance of SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Conclusion and acknowledges the drama/action/fantasy has raised the bar for the B.O. collection of Indian movies.

The Arka Mediaworks production has grossed 1,670 crore ($251 million) worldwide, according to analyst Ramesh Bala, second only to Nitesh Tiwari's Dangal. The true-life sports drama starring Aamir Khan has amassed 1,900.75 crore ($285.7 million) globally, including an extraordinary $174.4 million after 35 days in China, where Baahubali 2 is due to open next month.

“We are a content-driven company and believe that if the content of a particular movie is taken to the right audiences at the right time, achieving huge B.O numbers becomes easier. We are hopeful that Tubelight will further set a higher benchmark in terms of collections,” he said.

Recommended by Forbes

Produced by Salman Khan Films, the drama follows Salman as Laxman, a man-child who sets off to find his brother Bharat (Salman’s real life brother Sohail Khan). The supporting cast includes Chinese actress Zhu Zhu, Matin Rey Tangu, the late Om Puri and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Shah Rukh Khan has a cameo.

Budgeted at 100 crore ($15 million), the production is already well into profit. NH Studioz paid a reported 132 crore ($19.8 million) and Sony Music forked out 20 crore ($3 million) for the music rights. The soundtrack features five songs, all composed by Pritam. Star TV bought the satellite rights.

Yash Raj Films secured the overseas distribution rights, the first such collaboration between Aditya Chopra's production and distribution powerhouse and Khan.

Although NH Studioz is a relative newcomer, its parent company, Narendra Hirawat & Co., is a pioneer of the Indian film industry, founded in 1980, which distributes Indian cinema across the world. Its library spans more than 1,300 titles, from 1930s classics to the present.

Last year NH Studioz released Pink, a courtroom drama/thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang, worldwide, which grossed a superb 68 crore ($10.2 million) in India. Since then the distributor has handled a bunch of titles including Shivaay, Dear Zindagi and Begum Jaan.

Asked why he thought Salman Khan Films entrusted Tubelight to his firm, Shreyans said, “I think it’s just the chain of success stories that we delivered in the recent past. Being in the entertainment business for several decades, we understand the mindset and choices of Indian audiences very well.

"What also works in our favor is the ethos of doing transparent business with all our stakeholders for many years. It's the sheer determination of our team at NH Studioz of working very hard to achieve our goals and the reputation that we have managed to earn in the industry as well."

Hirawat hasn’t seen the film yet but is confident moviegoers can look forward to a “content-driven plot about two brothers, packaged with emotions and visualized by a strong director.”

NH Studioz has secured the rights to another marquee title: An untitled drama directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, which is scheduled to open on August 15, India's Independence Day.

Forbes

[salmankhanholics]

★ Salim Khan on the ‘poverty of talent’ in Bollywood, ‘Tubelight’ and the death of the reading habit !

‘We don’t have writers of any calibre and that is because people have forgotten how to read.’

Indu Mirani | May 28th 2017

Veteran scriptwriter Salim Khan has a reputation for not mincing his words. His legendary partnership with Javed Akhtar produced some of Hindi cinema’s best-known movies in the 1970s and the ’80s. Khan now often graces the headlines whenever his son Salman Khan has a new movie out. The most recent one, Tubelight, severely underperformed at the box office, promoting a debate on whether the era of the all-encompassing and reliable Bollywood star is on the wane. The fault lies not with the stars but with the quality of scripts, Salim Khan told Scroll.in.

What really went wrong with ‘Tubelight’ and why did you find it necessary to compensate your distributors for their losses? Tubelight was a good film, which would have done well if any other actor had starred in it, but to have an action hero like Salman getting constantly beaten up and crying all the time just didn’t work with the audience. Someone like Raj Kapoor could do any role, the common man, the lover, the comedian, but Salman doesn’t have that sort of an image. The audience kept expecting him to fight back and when he did retaliate a bit towards the end, the entire audience cheered for him, but it never went beyond a couple of blows. Also missing was a love story and in fact the little you see was added later, there wasn’t any initially.

The reason for compensating the distributors was that the price it had been sold at was in expectation of it making Rs 250-300 crore at the box office like most Salman films, which it didn’t. If Tubelight had been sold reasonably, it would have been a hit.

You just referred to Salman Khan’s image and therefore its limitations. Is this good for an actor? All over the world, leading men of stature have had images. Actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood have done the same roles all their life. Raj Kapoor was always a simpleton. If Tarzan wore clothes or James Bond didn’t romance women, they would not be who they are.

As for Salman, it’s not as if he is a character actor so he can fit into any role. He is a star, so he has to live with his image.

Is the audience getting fed up of stars? Recently they have rejected the films of Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. The reason for this is very simply that we have been making bad films. And the cause is that we just don’t have writers of any calibre and that is because people have forgotten how to read.

In my time everyone read books, recommended them to one another. We visited bookshops, read bestsellers as well as books related to the craft. Most people don’t even read the newspapers they subscribe to. Often when I am passing Salman’s door [Salman lives on the ground floor and his family occupies the first] I knock on the door and ask his staff to take in the papers.

I had recently written a 10-page tribute to Raj Kapoor, which I was very happy with. But most of the people I gave it to didn’t read it even though it was just 10 pages. So I made an audio version of it and now everyone who listens to it is full of praise for it.

And yet Akshay Kumar has managed to successfully update his image. I have to say for Akshay Kumar that the way he has improved as an actor is something that no one else has been able to. The journey that he has covered is almost impossible to imagine. Today he is an actor who can tackle every kind of subject. Other actors like Ajay Devgn, Aamir Khan and Salman have also improved over the course of their careers, but none like Akshay.

Would your angry young man Vijay be relevant today? And who among today’s actors could play him? He will always be relevant because he fights for justice. There will always be the fight between good and evil so he will always have a relevant story. As for actors, there is so much of poverty of talent in the industry today, it is impossible to name any one.

What do you mean when you say poverty? Let’s talk about today’s filmmakers. What is their inspiration? Invariably it is Mother India, Ganga Jumna, Pyaasa, Salim Javed films, Bimal Roy and BR Chopra films. But they don’t make films of that standard. Their excuse is that they don’t want to make those types of films. But the fact is that they can’t make those films. They have made this out to be a virtue.

Then there is the fact that they want to make offbeat films but want big actors in it because those are the actors with the draw and the audience and the ones who will get them money. Earlier, the filmmakers who made these films would take good actors and make a small film with a limited budget, which reached its intended audience. But if you take a Shah Rukh or a Ranbir you have to make a film to suit their image, which their storyline doesn’t, and so the film does badly.

Let me give you an analogy. Why was Gautam Buddha such a renowned fakir? Because he left a kingdom with its riches and luxuries to become one. How can he be compared with the 200 of them who sit outside the Mahim dargah? They are beggars not fakirs.

So don’t say you don’t want to make Sholay. First make it and then move away from it. There is nothing wrong in having ambition. But having ambition without talent or capability is a recipe for disaster.

What does the industry need to do to come out of its slump? Very simple: we need to make good films. What filmmakers seem to have forgotten is the importance of the screenplay. They focus on the story. Very frankly, if we had narrated the story of Deewaar to anyone, we would have been thrown out of the office. What made it exceptional was the screenplay.

You have said that if a director’s worth emerges after his third film. Why is that? Because everyone has experiences in life for material for three films. It is after that that his creativity can be recognised.

Most directors today don’t show anyone their films before release. Isn’t feedback important? Yes, it’s very important. Do you know that when Manoj Kumar was making Kranti, the print would be kept in the lab and anyone could watch it and give their feedback to him? It was the same with Raj Kapoor too. After all you’re making a film for public exhibition.

Today’s makers often say they make films because they want to say something, not for the returns. My question is, say something to whom? You already know it, so presumably you want to tell the audience. Then shouldn’t the house be full? And if the house is full, the film will make money. So how can you separate the two?

What do you think of today’s songs? We used to write situations for songs, but today’s songs are more like item numbers to which the actor can perform at shows. Having said that, we have some very good lyric writers today like Irshad Kamal, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Prasoon Joshi and many more.

I’ve often wondered how the ‘Mere Paas Maa Hai’ line from ‘Deewar’ originated. It was just a line like so many. Any good conversationalist with a hold over the language can be a dialogue writer.

Dialogue writing in the industry originated because most films were written by Bengalis or South Indians who needed someone conversant in the language to write the dialogue. Otherwise, the writer is supposed to do everything – story, screenplay and dialogue. When Timemagazine would review Hollywood films the only two names it would mention would be the director’s and the screenplay writer’s.

How did you and Javed Akhtar write so many successful films? We worked with passion. We were sometimes paid more than the lead actor, which was an added responsibility on our shoulders, and we had to be equal to it.

You asked me about the Mere paas maa hai dialogue. You only see the final one. Do you know, we tore up almost 50 versions before we arrived at it. During our 15 years together, we have only written 18 films because we gave our all to those films.

Who among the two of you was the more creative one? We were a team and we bounced ideas off each other. And though we as a team were popular, in fact most production houses like BR Films or Sippy films had their inhouse teams. So team writing worked well.

But the strange thing is so many people, even film literate people, would ask us who was the writer between you too. If just writing makes you a writer than even the guy who sits outside the post office and writes letters would be a writer. No one ever asked us, who was the thinker?

Diptakirti Chaudhuri’s book ‘Written by Salim Javed’ was released recently. What is your reaction to it? The author did not reach out to me and I don’t know if he met Javed for it but I’ve heard it is an interesting and authentic book though I haven’t read it yet.

Which of your films would you like your grandchildren to see? I have written a lot of films good, bad and ugly and many have been super successful, but real creative satisfaction has come with Deewar, Zanjeer, Sholay, Shakti and Don.

Any unfulfilled wishes? Yes, I want to open a restaurant, which would have books related to screenplay writing and other aspects of filmmaking, where patrons could come have coffee or tea and sandwiches and read and study those books. Bu it has to be a ground-floor place with a good ambience and I haven’t found such a place yet.

Scroll.IN

[salmankhanholics]

★ “I’m not a superstar. Superstar is Shah Rukh Khan” - Salman Khan !

Suman Sharma | Fri, Jun 23, 2017

How difficult was it for a smart person like you to play a dim character in Tubelight?

(Laughs) I’m not smart at all. In fact, I call myself ‘tubelight’. When you’re growing up there’s certain innocence, there’s naiveté, you’re full of life, there’s no corruption. At 52, when you’ve seen the world, you’ve dealt with different kind of people, you’ve lost your innocence in a way… it’s difficult to play something like this. You’re conscious that people will be watching you…ye bachpana kahan se laun. I just had to dig deep into my childhood. In fact, Sohail (Khan) and I began remembering our school friends, recollecting time spent with them and even got in touch with a few. We had lost touch with them. It was good fun to go back in time. A good journey! Also, we have so many kids at home. Unko dekhkar bachpana seekha. We were careful about not overdoing it because it’s an emotional film.

You mentioned that the film emotionally drained you...

Yes, that’s true. Also, it’s far easier to perform with glycerin ke aansoo. But when your real brother is playing the character, as soon as you say the lines, you well up with emotions… each time. I’d wonder phir se rona hai kya. So it was a difficult time.

You’ve worked with director Kabir Khan in Ek Tha Tiger, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and now in Tubelight. How would you describe you equation with him?

Kabir and I’ve known each other before Ek Tha Tiger. I’d seen Kabul Express. In fact, I told Katrina (Kaif) that you must do his New York, which initially she didn’t want to. Of course, today she has a great rapport with him. If Kabir gets me a bad script, I’m not going to do it, no matter what the comfort level between us. Till the time he gets me a good script I will work with Kabir. So also, till the time I give him my best work, he will work with me. We share a good understanding though we’re two different people who think differently. He comes from the documentary style of filmmaking, more realistic. I come from somewhere else. Our understanding of cinema is different.

Shah Rukh Khan is part of the film too…

Shah Rukh Khan has done a day’s work. He comes in at a crucial moment… it’s the turning point of my character.

You seem to be very fond of children… particularly your youngest nephew Ahil, sister Arpita Khan’s son…

I see a lot of Arpita in him. Because Arpita was exactly like him. Recently we were watching the trailer of Tubelight. Ahil watched us in the trailer and then he turned around and kept looking at Sohail and me. Guess, he has started figuring it now. He enjoys music too. Recently, we were in Hong Kong to promote the film. Ahil was there with us too. We feared the loud music would disturb him. But he had his eyes open, at 12 in the night. He was smiling and enjoying it all.

Baahubali 2 earned more than 1700 crores… Would Tubelight be able to break that record?

I doubt it will break the record. Baahubali jaisi filmen bahut kam hoti hai. The audiences loved it. They didn’t care whether it was a dubbed film. They didn’t care whether it was in Tamil or Telugu… they just took to it.

As a superstar what kind of challenges do you face today?

I’m not a superstar. Superstar is Shah Rukh Khan. It’s just a job. If you take it seriously, it will go to your head. I’m just doing my job like you people do.

How do you deal with trolls and negativity on social media?

I don’t check my Twitter or my Instagram account anymore. There are people, who just for fun and to connect with stars take on a fake identity and do all this bullshit on social media. They don’t realise that it reflects on their parents. I’m shocked that people can behave like this. Within two days, the cyber cell could crack the identities of 15 people, who were tweeting bad things about me from fake handles. One day I will expose them. I have 55 million fans on social media. But four lakh come with their real identity. They matter more to me.

You have it all… what more do you want to achieve in your life?

I live my life moment to moment. In that moment, I try to give my best because then your next moment is better than your previous one.

The tag line of Tubelight is ‘Kya tumhe yakeen hai’. How do you instill yakeeen in yourself when you feel low?

Whenever I feel low, I open my door, I go out and I see my watchman, my driver, the security guys… I see the guy who has done two shifts. I stand there for five minutes and then go back khush. I’m humbled watching them smiling and joking despite the salaries they earn, despite the tough jobs they do. And to think that a film not doing well makes me feel the way I do. So I go back and chill.

filmfare

[salmankhanholics]

★ The Salman Khan interview: 'When I was growing up I had shades of the character I play in Tubelight' !

Salman Khan talks about growing up, things he fears, Sohail Khan, Box Office business, ABCD 3, Tubelight and more. Read his interview here...

Himesh Mankad | Jun 09, 2017

Since the release of Wanted in 2009, Eid has become synonymous with Salman Khan. After a streak of blockbusters during the festive season, the superstar gears up for his riskiest Eid release till date, Tubelight. The film will see Salman Khan shedding his larger than life onscreen image as he essays a character who is slow to record the happenings around him exhibits child-like characteristics. Ahead of the film release, Khan got candid in a group interview about the film, Box Office numbers, equation with his brothers and more.

Excerpts:

What made you sign up for Tubelight?

It is very difficult to play a character like this. There is a certain way this character walks, and talks. When I was growing up, I had some shades of this character, but that was quite a while back. When I was narrated Tubelight, I could have easily said this is a beautiful script but I want to do something like Dabangg. There is something in my heart for this character which made me sign the film. While acting, there was always an attempt from my side to not overdo it. These characters are very difficult because you might start looking like a fraud. In a comic film, looking like a fraud is okay, but in an emotional film like Tubelight, it is the most difficult thing to do.

Is there a romantic sub-track in Tubelight?

The plot of the film revolves around two brothers and what happens when a brother goes to a war and his elder brother cannot accompany him. There are several other sub-plots in the film including a love story and relationship with a small kid. But the film is essentially, a story of two brothers.

What sort of bond do you share with Sohail Khan?

Sohail and I have made the costliest home video till date (hinting at Hello Brother). As an elder brother, I have only used them. Whenever I feel no actor would be willing to take up a character, I get them on board (laughs). On a serious note, this film would not have been possible without Sohail. At some point in time, these guys were looking to cast somebody bigger so that we get those numbers or crack a particular number. There were talks to rope in this big actor so that we would get this number and I said, ‘what is cracking this number bhai? I need to be comfortable with the person who is paired alongside me and I don’t want to crack the number.’ They wanted to sell the film at a particular amount, and I said, ‘I don’t want to see the film at any number, I just want it to be a good film.’ Breaking the records of course matters to me, but not at the cost of quality of the film. A film does well if it is destined to do well. I think the makers of Baahubali would still be recovering from the shock (hinting at record-breaking run at the Box Office).

How confident do you feel ahead of Tubelight?

You can’t say anything till the time film releases. The collections will be amazing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as the die-hard fans go to watch the film over the weekend but the acceptance of content over the weekend is the key factor for the film to succeed in the long run. The collections on the weekdays would give you an idea about the eventual lifetime business of a film. I don’t get the math of film prediction at all because there are so many factors that contribute towards the film’s success.

1. We hike the ticket rates to satisfy our ego

We had cut down the prices for Jai Ho and we didn’t tell anyone that we are doing it. So when tickets are usually sold at Rs 650, our tickets were sold for Rs 250. When we checked the collections next day, we didn’t know what is happening as we had expected the film to do much better. Everyone started calling it a flop, but later on, we realised that the collections are low because of low ticket rates. My intent was to reach to the collection of more than Rs 200 crore at the Box Office at subsidised rates. It is pointless to earn Rs 200 crore at high ticket rates. We hike the ticket rates for satisfying our egos and I don’t think that is cool.

2. Film’s don’t do well because audience don’t watch it in theatres

I have got calls from people saying that ‘I watched the movie on television. Why didn’t it do well? It is such an amazing film and the only response to that is ‘dude, it didn’t do well because you didn’t go to the theatre to watch the film. You are seeing it for free right now. You didn’t want to spend X amount of money on the film because the promos didn’t excite you. There might have been some other film which had a better promo and it is difficult to watch two films in the same month. So you went to watch the other film’. When you see something on television, you like it because it’s for free.

You have been around for 28 years, do you still feel nervous ahead of a film release?

I feel nervous for different reasons. Whenever you do a film, you put in a lot of hard work but for me, the hard work is okay, the problem lies somewhere else. You sign a film because you think that it is a sure shot hit and if the film turns out to be a disaster, it means your thinking has gone all off. One off thinking makes you start thinking about the other films that you have signed. If your streak of failure continues for a while, apart from getting destroyed in your career, a lot of people begin to lose money. You are taking everybody down with you. All the fans, who have trusted in you, come out disappointed. I fear that disappointment. It is the worst thing that can ever happen.

How important are Box Office Collections for you?

Filmmaking is a business and it should never be okay to lose money. This is our work, profession, and business. So if one film does not work, we work hard to ensure that the next one does.

How seriously do you take your stardom?

Whatever goes up, comes down. The thing right now is to see how long can one hold onto this position or even go higher. You are going to go down, but all of us (Senior Actors) are going to make sure that…. the younger generation work hard to get their bread and butter…. (laughs)

Is your next film with Remo D’Souza titled ABCD 3?

I am not doing ABCD 3. It is a Disney property and this one is produced by me under my banner, SKF. It is a dance film, but all dance films are not ABCD. Is Lala Land, ABCD? (Laughs)

Directed by Kabir Khan, Tubelight releases this Eid.

inuth

P.S. Yes the interview is similar to the ones posted earlier.

[salmankhanholics]

★ (Paper) Salman Khan sheds light on Tubelight + Sallu on Eidi and Bhansali !

[salmankhanholics]

★ INTERVIEW: Salman Khan On Ghosts Of His Past, Attempts Of Image Rehabilitation, And Why Critics Don't Matter !

In an exclusive interview, Khan opens up like never before.

15/06/2017 | Ankur Pathak

It's no secret that Salman Khan has a rather whimsical equation with the press. Whenever I have seen him at events and press conferences, the actor either appears distracted and zoned out or the opposite: funny, attentive, and in the mood to have a baller time.

On Wednesday evening at Bandra's Taj Lands End, Salman is busy gorging on keema pao, straight from the containers of the buffet spread. At the same time, he's also talking to a journalist, calling Pritam, the music composer, 'lethargic and lazy.'

While I worry he'll be his usual inattentive self, Salman, dressed in a black tee and a black denim, takes a smoke break. His film, Tubelight, is days away from release and the pressure is palpable. Khan's eyes look droopy, his gait, tired. He is not only acting in the film but also producing and distributing it.

After waiting for over two hours (that'd come at the cost of standing up a date), Khan sits with me for a chat. Excerpts:

Kabir Khan's Tubelight once again portrays you as a sincere, innocuous, do-gooder who's just too nice to do any wrong -- a trend that started with Bajrangi Bhaijaan and was seen in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo too. What draws you to these characters?

Like you said, the niceness of it. But with Tubelight, my agenda is different -- after the film, I want brothers, who may not have spoken to one another in months and years, to call each other up and forget the differences, if they had any. I want them to be so emotionally overcome that they just let past differences aside and say, "Hey man, let's party." Many times, in our families, we end up cutting ourselves away from our siblings. Sometimes the issues are trivial, sometimes serious. But why let it affect you? I hope Tubelight can achieve that. It touches on those emotions. This film is beautifully shot. It's also styled very well by Lepakshi Ellawadi, who did Sultan and is doing Tiger Zinda Hai.

But Salman, do you actually believe films can end family feuds and change people's lives?

Absolutely. I've seen films that have changed my life. And trust me, if a film can change me, out of all people, a film can change anyone. It is the only medium that has such a huge influence on your psyche. When you sit in that dark room and see a character, you are also internally absorbing its ideas and traits.

When you see nobility being projected by a hero, you are inspired to emulate it. This is one of the reasons why I haven't ever played a negative character. Negativity in a character doesn't impress me. Say if you have a character who earns a living through corrupt means, man, that puts me off. I will never play a dark character. Underdogs impress me. Those who make it against all odds impress me. I want to tell their stories.

But doesn't that limit you as an actor? A lot of great performances in cinema have come from actors who've played dark, twisted, villainous roles.

Well, I don't know. From the stuff I do, a Dabangg is a character that is sort of, somewhere-in-between. His intentions are good, actions aren't all that good. So you try and balance that off. My next, Tiger Zinda Hai, also veers in the grey area. I am also doing a crazy dance film. So while I do wanna portray characters which are inherently nice, I don't want them to be one-dimensional. It has to have style and swag and some depth.

While your popularity in the country is undeniably huge, I believe there is a certain section in the audience who aren't your fans and perhaps, they'll never be. While some don't want to be seen endorsing your brand of cinema, some will find hard to appreciate even a good film only because you are in it. A lot, I think, has to do with the notoriety of your past.

Well, I don't know. I move around and meet all sorts of people but funnily, I have never been told that. Neither have I noticed that. But if you say so, all I can say is that I will probably have to work that much harder to win them over. I know it won't happen overnight but I can only hope that some day they'll warm up to me as an artist.

Do you feel you are unfairly judged by your critics?

I genuinely, honestly don't care. I believe that they've no right to take anybody's hard work down. The fans will decide that, in any case. The box-office will prove it one way or the other. What have you done to earn the right to rip a film apart? On Day 1 of the release, you write some rubbish crap. It destroys films and a lot of hard work that went behind making it. With me, of course, it doesn't make any difference. And I think they know it all too well. My films are critic-proof. I am telling them now: go give my film minus 100 stars, why just zero. Let's see how that pans out. My fans will anyway watch my film and that's my reward. It only makes them look like a bunch of idiots.

My films are critic-proof. I am telling them now: go give my film minus 100 stars, why just zero. Let's see how that pans out. My fans will anyway watch my film and that's my reward. It only makes them look like a bunch of idiots.

I am pretty sure that our critics aren't under the delusion that they can influence the market of a Salman Khan film. What I want to know is -- what is your analysis? Why do you think they are so insanely crazy about Salman? I cannot even send a negative tweet about you without getting massively trolled by this insane sub-culture of bhaifans.

I don't know. Maybe they think I'm one of them. Maybe they think I am just a regular dude who's chill and approachable and has no airs of being a superstar. And I have remained like that right from the start. I lived in Indore in a boarding school until the age of 16. That really grounded me. I hung around on the streets, went to the farms. There's nothing fancy about my life. I like cycling around the city, I hop into an auto-rickshaw now and then. I don't drive a big car -- I hate big cars. Maybe that, along with the kind of films I do, make them think I'm, I don't know, accessible in a way?

I don't drive a big car -- I hate big cars.

Perhaps. It's hard to decode stardom.

It is. I just think I am a guy who lucked out. Mostly because of the family I was born in. I am immensely fortunate to have the kind of family and friends and the fans I have. Some people come to me and tell me that their children are yet to talk but if they see a Salman Khan song, they jump, react, laugh. They can recall me by my name. Earlier it used to be Prem and Chulbul but now it's Salman.

I don't get it. There are children and youngsters who idolize you and have deified you. They look up to you, want to emulate you, carry your style. But I believe you're obviously a very flawed person to idolize. You've had some very serious court cases against you. Why should anybody just forget and forgive and move on to your next blockbuster?

Everybody has a past. Does that make you a bad person for life? In my case, there is deliberate malice. When people go after you for something you have not done, it's bad. Next thing you know you are running around courts and people are judging you.

For 20 years. 20 years is a long time, man. It's a lot of years. It takes a toll on you and your family. The financial toll on our family because of the cases has been huge.

For 20 years. 20 years is a long time, man. It's a lot of years. It takes a toll on you and your family. The financial toll on our family because of the cases has been huge.

When I was a nobody I had nothing. (Pauses) When I become somebody, I got the magistrate court. When I become slightly bigger, I got the High Court, then. And now when I am in this position, I have the Supreme Court.

Well, something awful did happen. It's not going to leave you.

It will leave me. It's God's way of anchoring me down. If these things didn't happen, I would have lost the plot by now. That's how I see it. It's my journey and whatever it takes, I will go through it. Thankfully, I have family and friends who've stood by me and pointed out whatever happened wasn't correct.

How do you deal with these ghosts of the past, Salman?

I don't have any ghosts. These ghosts have been created by people who are running businesses on them. There are so many incidents like mine that happened and nobody ever talks about them. Whenever there's a hit-and-run that happens anywhere, they drag me into it all over again. I mean, what the hell, come on, man. How much will you go on and on...

Whenever there's a hit-and-run that happens anywhere, they drag me into it all over again.

That's because some do think you got away with it quite easily.

...well, the High Court looked into it and they came up with a verdict which says that nothing of that sort ever happened. Ye sab galat hi hai. The courts said it. But what about the 20 years? What about it? Mere toh wo gaye na? And there's nothing to compensate for that. Nothing at all. And during all this, when I am seen doing a comedy show, or romancing beautiful women, or just laughing, they go like, "Look at this brat. He doesn't care. He is indifferent to what happened." And I am like, dude. It's my bloody job. I have to do it no matter what. I have to do it to sustain myself and pay my lawyers. If I don't do it, where is the money going to come from?

The idea still lingers around that you got away with it because you are a powerful movie star.

Which is not at all true. It's not true. It's all nautanki (mischief). Even now there are 5 out of job people who'll show up on television to debate my case. Some for, some against. It's ridiculous. None of them would have happened if I wasn't a star. None of it.

There's an argument that your Being Human charitable trust has been cleverly designed to rehabilitate your image. That, along with your Mr. Good Boy roles, carves a certain perspective that glosses over your moral transgressions.

Do you have any idea of the amount of work we do at Being Human? We do s***loads of work on a daily basis. I haven't even put my name there, man. It's Being Human. I am not even on the Board or any of the trustees. The idea is that years from now, people should forget who even started the foundation. You have no idea, man. Do one thing: Come and live my life for one day.

(Gets up and walks away)

Huffington Post India

[salmankhanholics]

★ “You cannot any longer fool the audiences”: Salman Khan !

JYOTHI VENKATESH | June 13, 2017

You are playing the role of Lakshman Prasad in Tubelight!

Yes. I play the interesting role of Lakshman Prasad whose younger brother goes to fight against the Chinese in the Indo-China war. in the film Tubelight. Basically, it revolves around the emotional relationship between two brothers. I did not need to use glycerin during the emotional scenes since my real life brother Sohail Khan is playing my brother in Tubelight too.

Is the film Tubelight a rip off from the film Little Brother?

Tube light is not an exact Xerox copy of Little Brother. I have not seen the film but Kabir Khan who had seen the film was inspired by it and has focused on the emotional portions of the film and set out to made Tubelight in keeping with the Indian sentiments. Kabir has also seen the ad film on Black Label and also inspired by it. The film is set in the backdrop of Indio-China war in Kumao regiment in the 60’s.

How did you prepare for your part of Lakshman Prasad in Tubelight?

You would not believe it but I have shaped my character based on two people I know in real life. They are Parvez who is my body double in my films and Mahesh Manjrekar’s son Satya. I asked Mahesh who is my good friend to send to my home his son so that I could observe him at close quarters and imbibe his qualities. He is very simple at heart and innocent.

How important is the story for a film?

My biggest plus point is that I am the son of a writer and hence I have a strong sense of story. If the story is good, even if a film is bad, it will run but if the story is bad a film has no chance of running at all.

You mean to say that you cannot fool the audiences anymore?

Yes. You cannot any longer fool the audiences by packing up a film with action by blowing up fancy cars over the cliff. Only emotion can serve as a connect. We can all go wrong with the end product even if we may end up thinking that we have made yet another Sholay or Moghul E Azam.

How is Zu Zu as an actress?

Zu Zu, who is the leading lady of Tubelight is a hard working and professional actress from China. Her name is pronounced as Ju Ju

Is Shah Rukh Khan giving a special appearance in Tubelight?

Yes. Shah Rukh Khan has been very generous and kind enough to agree to do a guest appearance in Tubelight. All that I can divulge at the moment about his role is that he plays the biggest turning point in the film Tubelight.

What was your reaction when you saw the trailer of Tubelight?

I became emotional when I saw the trailer for the first time when Amar Butala, the CEO of my company showed it to me. I still miss Omji with whom I have acted in several films. I have lost my colleagues like VK Sir, Omji and Reemaji in the recent four months this year.

Is it true that you had started your career by joining director Shashilal Nair as his assistant?

Yes. My dad had asked me to assist director Shashilal Nair when he was making the Jackie Shroff starrer Falak, because he felt that I would not be able to click in Hindi films as an actor and didn’t want me to experience the heart breaks which he had experienced as a struggling actor. However, luckily for me, his fears proved to be unfounded and today I am busy as a star.

You are now the Czar among the stars whose films have crossed the coveted 100 cr, with films like Ready, Bodyguard, Dabangg, Ek Tha Tiger, Dabangg 2, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Sultan. How do you feel being a part of the league?

My filmi funda is very simple. Every film will not necessarily cross the 100 cr league just because I am in it. If a film is bad, it will definitely not cross the 100 cr plus mark. It is not easy but it is achievable now, if a film is good. It was difficult to believe that a film can gross 100 cr plus five years back but now it is quite possible.

Can we hail you as the Rajanikant of Bollywood?

Though I love Rajinikanth, I would not at all hesitate to state that if I reach anywhere close to him I will be really happy, considering the kind of person that he is.

What is your take on success?

I have my own pulse. I will succeed only if I believe that my own pulse is that of the audiences. As Salman Khan, I have become a megalomaniac. If I can deliver as Chulbul Pandey, it is fine but it is bad if I do my role as Salman Khan.

After having acted with established directors like Subhash Ghai, David Dhawan, how easy was it for you to work with a new director like Arbaaz Khan?

In my career, with the exception of Subhashji and David Dhawan, I have worked most of the times with only new directors, whether it was Karan Johar in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Khamoshi, Sajid Nadiadwala in Kick, Siddique in Bodyguard, Abhinav Kashyap in Dabangg, Prabhudheva in Wanted, Anees Bazmee in Ready or Arbaaz Khan in Dabangg 2.

You are a part of Tiger Zinda Hai. How tough is it to come up with a sequel?

It is very difficult to make a sequel. Even in the West, it is only Sylvester Stallion’s sequels to Rocky and Rambo that have done well at the box office. When you set out to make a sequel, you tend to get carried away. If it looks like we deliberately set out to make a comedy, it cannot be similar.

Is there any film in the offing where your father Salim Khan will write the subject?

People ask me why my father is not writing for any film when any director would gladly give his right arm to have a script written by the man who had written legendary films like Deewar and Sholay. I am glad that my father is enjoying his retired phase because frankly I do not think that he has the patience to deal with the directors and the kind of sensibilities that they come with today.

You seem to like action a lot!

To keep myself fit, I want to do action. I would love to do a film of action if it comes with a baggage of emotion. Whether it is an action film or an emotional film, the introductory fight has to be interesting enough to hold you as a viewer. The older you grow, the better you grow as an actor. If action is over, romance is over. I am glad that the kids today call me Salman or Salman Khan and not Salman Uncle. The younger lot of actors today is a superb lot because they come prepared on the sets.

Are you planning to do an out and out action film?

Action alone will be very boring. I’d not like to watch a film if it is not larger than life. It will be difficult to do an out and out action film like Jackie Chan does in film after film

People insist that you interfere with your directors. Is it true?

After Veer, in the interest of my films, I had decided that the final cut of my films will go only with my approval. I feel that what Aamir does is correct. I only hope that I do not take advantage of my stardom when I put my foot down

What next after Tubelight?

I have Sohail’s Sher Khan and also Sajid Nadiadwala’s Kick 2 and will soon start working on Tiger Zinda Hai.I am also all set to do a film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, besides a film on dancing with Remo Fernandez.

What does stardom mean to you?

Stardom means nothing to me. It means that if you can’t take appreciation in the right way, you could be destroyed. It’s also temporary and a difficult thing to handle. Treat success and fame as a fleeting experience because they will leave you feeling bitter, cynical, and angry. So all you can do is enjoy while it lasts. Tomorrow, I might not be here but my trust, BEING HUMAN, will continue. So someone who is as passionate as me about social work will take over. This person will have to show his inclination towards this work and I would gladly make him a part of BEING HUMAN. Today, my name is pulling in the money but what about tomorrow?

Do you believe in the number game?

If the fans come in, the numbers follow. If people like the movie, the numbers will go up. So I don’t concentrate on numbers, I focus on the film instead. Agar aap sirf numbers pe jaaoge, toh phir main cheez bhool jaaoge. Think about the subject and not the marketing of the subject.

How do you feel being Salman Khan?

I have no idea. I feel like I am a part of the aam junta (common people). I guess I’m someone who stands for them, I’m perhaps their voice or someone who they think is needed in that position. They believe that Salman Khan is very approachable and can relate to him. So I think that could be the only connect that they feel there ishere’s a man who wants to live a normal life and not that of a star.

You seem more inclined of late to promote your films in a big way!

Nowadays you have to spend more time to promote films. The new funda is that you need to devote at least 15 days to promote your films. I am game to tie up with corporate for the promotion of any film of mine in future provided they are ready to pay to my NGO Being Human or for needy and poor kids directly without deducting their administrative costs.

Have you thought in terms of taking up direction?

Yes. Though it is true that I take interest in every department of the film in which I am acting, whether it is the subject or the music or the action sequences, I still feel that I am not ready to be the captain of the ship. I do not want to dabble in direction, though I know for a fact that my colleagues like Sunny Deol, Ajay Devgn and Aamir Khan have already dabbled in direction. However, I am game to work with Aamir Khan if he is ready to direct a film with me, provided I get the time to do a film with him

Aamir has declared that he will tie your hands and feet to make you get married!

Yes. I have read somewhere that Aamir wants to make me get married and is ready to tie my hands and feet. I can only retort that I have also decided to tie his hands and feet to see to it that he does not get married a third time in his life. (Grins).

Cinebuster

[salmankhanholics]

★ Who's afraid of Salman Khan?!

The Bollywood superstar is legendary for intimidating journalists. But is he really an ogre or merely pretends to be one.

December 28, 2020 

I have often been told I am soft on Salman. Maybe I am. Only he can make me dance to a ‘Dhinka chika’ after a show of the nonsensical Ready (2011) or make me whistle from the balcony during Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) when he emerges from a room filled with poison gas, bare-bodied, and goes on to obliterate an entire army. Who cares if the critics call his adventures improbable and his fantasies impossible, Salman has never professed to be an ‘arty’ actor. He is an industry kid, a producer now, and for him, films bridge the divide between the classes and the masses. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t win awards, what matters is that the theatres are full so those who invest in the film earn money from it. When Tubelight (2017) flickered and fused too soon, he returned money to the distributors with a heartfelt apology.

After three collaborations—Sultan (2016), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and Bharat (2019)—Ali Abbas Zafar, a biochemistry graduate, believes that the reason behind Salman’s enduring appeal is his earnestness. His communication with his audience is simple and direct. No matter what character he plays, there’s always a bit of Salman Khan in him and that is why he has remained a larger-than-life superhero even after three decades.

For me, Salman always makes great copy and I wait to meet him. However, his on-off equation with the press has made him an intimidating figure for many of my colleagues. I remember reaching Film City studio during Tere Naam (2003) for a promised one-on-one, only to find him prowling around like an angry tiger because of an article that had appeared in a daily that morning. The reporter who had written the piece was there too and that only made him angrier. It took hours to persuade him to a joint press conference. While many from my fraternity, including the one who had erred, kept a safe distance, I pulled my chair up right to his side so I could hear his murmur more clearly and get his attention too. When I asked him if he had liked Devdas, there was dead silence. After a long pause, just when everyone was expecting him to fly off the handle again, he replied that he hadn’t because it didn’t make him cry.

There was a time when Salman didn’t like journalists because of their biased reportage and for years, didn’t give interviews. But that didn’t stop stories about him from appearing in magazines or being recounted in newsrooms. I heard about how he had chased a scribe who had written something derogatory about his then girlfriend around the studio, with every intention of beating him up. I also heard about how he had walked another up three flights of stairs at Mehboob Studio, then back down, up again and down, finally, telling the huffing-puffing reporter that he wasn’t in the mood for an interview! I heard how he had kept a senior colleague standing in the blazing sun for a good part of the day, then, on learning that she was fasting and feeling faint, had rushed her into his make-up room, revived her with fruits, sweets and juices, and given her the interview of the year, only to tell her at the end to erase the tape as the conversation had been for her ears only.

I can add a few stories of my own to these. One evening, I raced into the studio, a few minutes after him, only to be told that tired of waiting, Salman had retreated into his vanity van to ‘take a shower’. ‘But didn’t he just arrive from his home, which is just around the corner from the studio, five minutes ago?’ I asked, baffled. His publicist nodded, unable to explain why he needed to suddenly take a shower at six in the evening. I had simply taken a chair and parked myself outside his vanity van. He stepped out, thirty minutes later, looking like a rock star. We did not mention the shower.

On another occasion, I arrived at a suburban five-star hotel only to be told that he was late. The publicist guided me towards the buffet table and insisted I have a bite while I waited. I was in the middle of lunch when the publicist reappeared, looking flustered, and asked if I would like to have the first go at Salman who suddenly wanted to do a few interviews before the press conference. I was ready.

I was ushered into a ballroom crowded with the entire marketing team of the brand he was promoting. Everyone was standing in attention, because well, Salman was on his feet too. I swallowed a chuckle. After we were introduced, he nodded curtly, and still standing by the table, rapped out, ‘Start.’ I flashed him a smile and asked sweetly, ‘Can we sit down first?’ There was a minute’s silence when you could have heard a pin drop. Then, chuckling, he waved me to a chair, taking the one facing me. And everyone else sat down too, with sighs of relief. Phew!

Twenty minutes later, I got up to leave and reached for my cell phone that was on the table between us recording our conversation. It had pinged every time a text came through and even rung a couple of times. It pinged again as he was handing it over. ‘Your phone rings more than mine, who’s calling you so often?’ Salman frowned. With a poker face I replied, ‘Shah Rukh Khan. He has a press conference today at a hotel in the vicinity and is wondering why I am still here with you.’ I swear I heard the congregation groan. Those were the days when ‘Karan’ and ‘Arjun’ were not even on talking terms. So, to bring up Shah Rukh’s name in a conversation with Salman was suicidal. Everyone waited for him to pronounce, ‘Off with her head.’ The silence stretched… Then, he broke out into an appreciative guffaw. Salman, I discovered that day, is not an ogre, he only pretends to be one

[salmankhanholics]

★ Salman Khan reveals when he used to improve bad scripts and why no Khan has 10 per cent of Rajesh Khanna’s stardom !

Salman Khan bares all about his choice of films and why he doesn't understand film promotional strategies today. He thinks his upcoming Kabir Khan directorial Tubelight has a much higher emotional quotient, and signing Tiger Zinda Hai and Remo D'Souza's dance film was a foolish decision.

Priyanka Sharma | June 4, 2017

Salman Khan is not the most articulate man around. In fact, during a conversation with him, until he goes off track, takes bizarre turns and draws anecdotes, amusing but unrelated to what you are talking about, you know it’s not him. So, on Saturday evening, as Salman spoke to a group of journalists ahead of the release of Tubelight, while he retained his typical meandering way of talking, he did surprise them with a lesser-seen seriousness and full-fledged responses, a departure from the ambiguity he usually shows.

Here are the excerpts from a half-an-hour interview with the star, where he spoke about the maths of box-office collections which he doesn’t understand, the change in his film choices over the years and why he doesn’t believe that he, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are as big as people think them to be.

Q. The trailer of Tubelight and the film’s two songs have generated great response, so, half the battle is already won?

Salman: You never know till the film releases. The overseas collection, the box-office collection decide the fate of the film. Your hardcore fans will go to watch your films on the opening weekend so, your collections would be amazing. But then, usually the film drops on Monday-Tuesday. So, the eventual lifetime business of a film you only get to know on a Monday or a Tuesday. Then you also have to see that the country’s got to be peaceful, should be in celebratory mood. Some controversy shouldn’t happen. There are thousands of things that the film depends on. Protests shouldn’t happen, people should not get scared of going to the theatres. The atmosphere should be peaceful and happy. That eventually will destine the lifetime business of the film.

In fact, I don’t understand how people say that this film will earn this much on first day and second day. I just don’t get that maths at all because if there’s some tragedy with someone, he or she wouldn’t come for the film. There can be many reasons that people wouldn’t turn up for the movie. So, how do you decide the collections in advance. So, when they tell me that opening weekend it will cross Rs 100 crore, I don’t buy it.

When we did Jai Ho, we cut down the prices of the ticket. But we didn’t tell about it to anyone. Even we forgot that. So, the next day when we went for interviews, Sohail and I were shocked, we were like what is happening, we were so sad that we haven’t done the business that we actually do. People called it disaster, a flop. We later recalled that we had slashed the prices. Our thinking was that if you have to beat, beat at the price rate of Rs 250, not at Rs 600-900. Families go for movies, then all that popcorn, Pepsi, then kids would want you to buy them something from the mall. So, it’s a huge expense. So, just for our own ego and satisfaction, increasing the price of tickets is not cool. But having said that, this is also true that when people get something at a cheap rate, they feel the right to run you down, to criticise. But when you watch something for Rs 950, even if the film is bad you will find something to like. That’s how we think.

You watch something on TV, for free, and you love it. I have got calls from people saying that we watched this movie on TV and wonder why it didn’t do well. I tell them because you didn’t go to the theatre to watch it. There are options today, people choose one over the other on the basis of the promos. And you can’t afford two movies.

Q: So, do you think that pulling audience to theatres is quite difficult today?

Salman: It’s very difficult. The only thing that I feel can draw audience to the theatres are the film’s posters in the theatres, the trailers in the theatres, promos played on television and information about the release date in papers. The people, who go to theatres are the same number who keep going to theatres all the time. Even today, when I go to a theatre, the first thing that I notice are the posters and I go 15-20 minutes before to see the trailers. So, I know what film is coming when.

I believe that is the best and the cheapest form of publicity ever. We never promoted films earlier. There was one All India Radio channel. So, during Maine Pyar Kiya I did one interview but after that, for the longest time I didn’t do anything. Producers used to put trailers, posters. There was no television at that point of time. People (still) used to go to theatres. Now, there are so many TV channels and radio channels. There were none then. And the films used to run for 100 days. Today, the lifetime business is four-six weeks.

Q: For the longest time, Tubelight was reported as an Indo-Chinese love story and now, during the promotions, all we see is you and Sohail.

Salman: The plot of the film is about brothers, it is about them. How one goes to war and what happens with him, and how the other is left here. Then there’s a love story also, his struggles too, then there’s a kid too. So it’s not just one thin line. Because the plot is about brothers, we are promoting it like that. Now, you will say get that kid too, who by the way is the most amazing kid I have ever met in my entire life. He is on some other level. I was wondering why aren’t they getting him for publicity. I would want to do all my interviews with him. I hope he comes. He is playing a Chinese boy in the film but in real life he is an Indian. So, they (makers) said, ‘We will keep it a surprise,’ and now, I have disclosed it to you guys. So, I don’t understand these things (promotional strategy).

The things that he (Martin Rey Tangu) says, he is not that over smart kid at all. So, one day he tells Kabir and me, ‘You guys said it will be fun working in the film and I will enjoy. But here, you are making me the same thing again. You have made me wear this sweater in this hot weather, these shoes that I am wearing are hurting me. I don’t like this.’ Then we said, ‘Arey, but you will get to be an actor.’ He replied, ‘I don’t want to be an actor, I want to be a chef. You should try my cupcake.’ Just imagine! And he is just five or six-year-old.

Q: Was it tough shooting for Tubelight considering it’s a period film?

Salman: It’s difficult. But more than that what is difficult is to play a character like this because to get that innocence, that walk, speak the lines that one speaks… I might have had some shades of this character while growing up but that’s a long time ago. This is what happened in the narration, I could have easily said, ‘I want to do Dabangg type films. This is a beautiful script but it’s not for me.’ But there was something in my heart that liked this character, then I took it.

But when I took it, I realised that I might overdo this. These characters are very difficult to do because you might start looking like a fraud, a caricature. You might look like a joke. So, if it’s a funny film then it’s okay but if it’s an emotional film, then it’s the most difficult thing to do. Then you need to dig so deep down and so far back that it takes a toll on you. Then you go back to when you were growing up, how you were with your friends and since it’s a period film and the character is quite child-like, you have to look at things you did as a child which of course you don’t do now. And if someone does it on screen, you say how kiddish is that. But this character allowed me to do everything.”

Q: The purity of your character in the film reminds one of that in the Sooraj Barjatya films and Bajrangi Bhaijan from the recent times. Is it difficult to play these roles now?

Salman: Playing them is not difficult. What is difficult is after you play it, how you implement (the qualities of these characters) in your life. That’s the most difficult thing to do and that’s what I am trying to do. I am trying my level best to do that.

Q. Do you still feel pressured ahead of a Friday?

Salman: Yeah, but for different reasons. You do a film, you put in so much of hardwork. That’s okay, but the reason that you have signed the film is because you think it will be a sure-short hit. Now, the film releases and it is a flop, that means your thinking has gone all wrong. And this starts making you think about the other film that you have just signed. So, now if such things happen, not only you lose the money and you go down in your career, but you also take others with you. All the fans that have paid to watch your film come out being disappointed, that disappointment is the worst thing that can ever happen. And of course, collections are important. This is our profession, our career. If you start a business, you don’t want to make losses. It doesn’t work like that. So, this is our business.

Q. With Bajrangi Bhaijan, Sultan and now Tubelight, there is a perception that you have finally become serious about doing roles where you are required to act.

Salman: I have become very serious about choosing my films correctly so, that I don’t have to do that much… There are these phases of not doing much and the script, screenplay doing everything, the supporting cast doing everything (for you). For example, Bajrangi Bhaijan. I didn’t have to do anything. The screenplay was taking me. What did I have to do in the film? Nothing. Just carry the girl and walk. There’s nothing. Just look left, look right. Look simple, that’s it.

Tubelight is more difficult because emotional quotient is much higher. Emotionally, this film was difficult, But apart from that… after Sultan, there was some pain, ligaments torn, knee is still hurting. So, that was the only painful thing. Now, I have signed Tiger Zinda Hai like a fool. I am jumping off buildings. I am going mad, I feel my knee will come out of the socket. After that, I am doing a dancing film, which is even more foolish. I thought it would be a little extra but I didn’t realise dancing today is gymnastic. So, at 52… I am like I am in a fix now.

Q. But was there a phase when you took things for granted and have you changed in a sense that now, you think you need to give back to your audience much more than what you offered them earlier?

Salman: I never took anything for granted. What happened was the kind of films that I got, I just chose the best from them. Then, I used to see that this is an average script and there’s so much wrong with it, now what to do? I wasn’t getting good scripts. So, I used to call the director at home and all my energy used to go in improving the script. Thank God, I come from the family of writers so while improvising we took films to a (better) level.

And now, people come with written scripts which are fabulous and it is difficult to choose from them. It’s the phase right now. Whatever goes up, goes down as well. So, the thing is how long can one hold and stay at his position and go higher which is the most difficult thing that ever has been because you are going to go low. But all of us are going to make sure that the younger generation should earn their bread and butter.

Q. While there are many competent actors today, people believe there can’t be a star bigger than the three Khans.

Salman: It’s not true. Acting wise, I don’t think there’s anyone bigger than Dilip Kumar. After that, Mr Bachchan has had a great run. Till today, he is doing Kaun Banega Crorepati. He is still working, you put on the TV and he is everywhere. He is almost like the face of the country. Stardom wise, if you think we guys have the popularity and all, for six-seven years there was Rajesh Khanna. Nobody’s bigger than him. Second was Kumar Gaurav because I have seen both of them. I was 9-10, when I saw Rajesh Khanna’s stardom and when I was 16-17, I saw Kumar Gaurav’s. It was unbelievable. So, when they talk about us, I tell them I have seen stardom and ours is not even 10 per cent.

Indian Express

[salmankhanholics]

★ Salman Khan not doing ABCD 3, but says he’s nervous about Remo D’Souza’s dance film !

There were reports that Salman Khan would reunite with Jacqueline Fernandez for ABCD 3. The Tubelight actor rubbished such rumours. However, he will be working on a new dance-based film under the direction of Remo D'Souza. The project is still untitled.

June 3, 2017 

Recently, refuting reports about his involvement with the third installment of dance film franchise ABCD, superstar Salman Khan has confirmed that the only dance-based movie he is going to do next is Remo D’Souza untitled project.

There were reports that Salman would reunite with his Kick co-star Jacqueline Fernandez for ABCD 3. Quashing the media reports, Salman said in an interview, “I am not doing ABCD 3. That’s a Disney property. While this one will be produced by me. It’s altogether a different film. Yes, it’s a dance movie but not every dance based film is ABCD!”

The film will require the 51-year-old to work on his dancing skills. He will be seen portraying the role of a father to a 13-year-old girl. The superstar is a little nervous about the project as he joked, “I thought it’s okay (even) if it’s a dance film but today dancing has become acrobats and gymnastics. So, I don’t know why I went ahead and signed it.”

Salman will start shooting for the movie after he finishes Tiger Zinda Hai. He has reunited with former girlfriend Katrina Kaif for the YRF movie, which is the sequel to the duo’s 2012 hit Ek Tha Tiger. It is being helmed by Sultan director Ali Abbas Zafar.

Tiger Zinda Hai releases this December but much before that, later this month Salman’s Tubelight will hit theatres. It also stars his brother Sohail Khan. Directed by Kabir Khan, Tubelight is set against the backdrop of 1962 Sino-Indian war. It releases on June 25.

Indian Express

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★ Salman Khan: I have signed Tiger Zinda Hai like a fool !

While Salman Khan's fans are celebrating that he is doing Tiger Zinda Hai with Katrina Kaif. He regrets it

Manisha Mandal | June 3, 2017

While Salman Khan’s fans are celebrating that he is doing Tiger Zinda Hai with Katrina Kaif. He regrets it. Yes. The actor calls him a fool for taking up TZH and he has his own reasons. As Salman in his earlier interviews confessed that he had a lot of physical injuries during his Sultan shoot and till date, he has the pain.

Salman in our interview for Tubelight, he said, “In Bajrangi Bhaijaan I had to do nothing. The screenplay and the story were taking him the film. Tubelight is slightly different because the emotional quotient is much higher. Emotionally the film was difficult, but apart from that nothing. In Sultan there were lots of physical pain, ligament tones, my knees are still hurting now, and now I have signed Tiger Zinda Hai like a fool. I am jumping off buildings, shooting guns, all that action. And I am even more foolish, I took a dancing film. I taught dancing is just dancing. But I didn’t realise dancing is all about acrobats and gymnastics right now. I am 52 and I am like yeh toh panga le liya yaar.” Well we totally understand Salman’s pain. But even the actor believes in no pain, no gain.

Salmaan begun the shooting of Tiger Zinda Hai with Katrina Kaif months back, apart from actions sequences, he has shot beautiful romantic songs. And after his action-packed film, we will see the star in the dance film, but it’s not ABCD sequel. There were reports that Salman will be signing Remo D’Souza’s ABCD 3, but the actor refuted doing that film and said, “Every dancing film is not ABCD. That is a Disney film and this one I am producing it myself”.

India.com

[salmankhanholics]

★ Salman Khan sheds light on Tubelight !

LIPIKA VARMA | Jun 4, 2017

Salman Khan talks about childhood memories of Eid, and growing up with brother Sohail.

Salman Kahan’s home production Tubelight is all set to release, and he took to talking about it in his inimitable style.

“I am happy to meet you,” Salman began. Addressing how Eid has become synonymous with a Salman Khan film he continued, “Actually when you say it’s an Eid release, it implies as if the movie is only for Muslim audiences, which is not true. My film comes during Eid like other films, which are released during Diwali and other festive occasions. During Eid, there is no Ramzan for the Muslims, so they go and watch movies, first day first show. What I mean to say is films released during the festive period benefit by the celebrations of the audiences who are looking for good entertainment.”

Talking about his childhood memories, Salman mentioned about the customary Eidi that he and his brothers were gifted. “When we were given Eidi of Rupees ten only, we’d collect them in one rupee coins. When it increased to Rs 100, we’d prefer 10 rupee notes amounting to Rs 100. Likewise, with Rs 1000 we’d accumulate the `100 note as this would make us feel rich. We’d have money in bundles.”

As the conversation continued, he got emotional about Sohail. “When I was five, I remember Sohail was born. I have seen him crawl, walk and talk. I am very attached to him. He plays a character younger than me in the film, and I did not even need glycerine, tears would roll down instantly.”

He lightens up the grey mood. “I don’t like being emotional, so with my other co-stars I always ask for glycerine.”

Talking about his character in Tubelight, Salman said, “My friend Mahesh Manjrekar’s son Satya is very innocent. Whatever he does, he does it from the heart. I have taken bits and pieces of his persona for this character. I have worked out with him in the gym. So, one fine day, I called up Mahesh and asked him to send Satya home as I was doing a film. Mahesh thought I was casting Satya in the movie. I then mentioned that I wanted to notice Satya mouthing the dialogues for my film so that I could imbibe his mannerisms. I must tell you Satya is very shana”, he smiles.

“My body double, Parvez, is also a simple guy. Whenever I reach late on the sets, it is he who performs all my long action shots for me. I have never seen such a sweet boy until this day. Parvez is featuring again with Katrina Kaif,” Salman adds with a smile.

His fans display their delight. So, Salman continues. “Yes! So, Katrina and I along with Yashraj Films are teaming up for Tiger Zinda Hai. This is an action film after Sultan where you will see me jumping across buildings and more with mangled knees, etc. It is not the best time for me to perform action sequences but I am happy. Next is a dance film with Remo D’Souza,” he concludes.

Asian Age

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★ Salman Khan on Eidi and Sanjay Bhansali !

LIPIKA VARMA | Jun 4, 2017

The actor also speaks about Tubelight and bringing people together with every movie.

Salman Khan is a happy man these days, as Tubelight is all set to release. Talking about the Id release, Salman says, “When you say it’s an Id release, it insinuates as if the film is only for Muslim audiences, which is not true. Films releasing during any festival get to entertain the audience while they are in a celebrative mood.”

Speaking of the money that Salman collected as “Eidi” during his childhood days, he quips, “Back then, we would get an Eidi of ten rupees only. But we would love to collect one rupee notes or coins equivalent to ten rupees. However, when this Eidi increased to a hundred rupee note, then we preferred ten-ten rupee notes. When it reached thousand, we preferred 100 rupee notes. It just feels like we have hoarded a huge booty as it would come to us in a wholesome bundle.”

Talking about his brother and co-star Sohail, he adds, “At five, I have seen Sohail being born and then watched him grow up. I have a very emotional connect. While enacting scenes with him in the film, I did not need glycerin; tears would just roll down. But while enacting emotional scenes with my other co-actors, I ask for glycerin. Mujhe emotional hona pasand nahi hai.”

One has to believe the mantra of Salman’s innocent demeanour in Tubelight. “My friend Mahesh Manjrekar’s son Satya’s behavior and persona is so innocent; I have taken bits and pieces of it. One day, when I asked Mahesh to send Satya home as I was doing a film, he thought I was casting him. I then told him that I have to watch Satya speak the dialogues for my film so that I can capture his mannerisms. Also, my body double Parvez is an innocent guy. Whenever I reach the sets late, it is he who performs all the action shots for me.

On working with SLB Confirming rumours of his film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Salman says, “I will be doing a film with SLB. Oh, no! muh se nikal gaya, (Amar) Butalaji (the Chief Operating Officer, Salman Khan films, and co-producer), it just slipped out.” Will 2017 mark a reconciliation between Sanjay and Salman? We hope that Salman, who is known to play pranks, is not trying to pull another one.

deccan chronicle