To say Bollywood actor Salman Khan's actions border increasingly schizophrenic is putting it mildly.
How else can you explain his Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde act during his lightning trip to Dubai last week?
On Tuesday, the day he arrived in Dubai, he had slated a string of interviews only to cancel it abruptly. Call it travel-weariness after the short Mumbai-Dubai haul or blame it on his mood swings, he was in no placatory mood.
But 24 hours later, tabloid! caught him with his guard down at the Ritz-Carlton.
Bollywood's bad boy was in town to unveil his paintings for the first time in the Middle East, and he was the picture of humility. Dressed in a plain black shirt with Being Human (his charity organisation) emblazoned on the rolled-up sleeves, he arrived without the usual fanfare or entourage.
Walking in quietly, it took some time for the 50-odd guests to register that one of Bollywood's longest-enduring actors was in their midst — gazing at his own art work. In a scene that was straight out of a tableau, it took them less than a second to snap out of the limbo and mill around him.
Saintly patience
Watching people swarm around stars is given, but to watch a star accommodate them with such saintly patience is not. Smiling graciously, Khan — who is currently on the big screen beating villains into a bloody pulp in Wanted — was playing the perfect host.
Charming as ever, he even took time out to explain his art to the star-struck art lovers around him. His maiden outing as an artist saw him exhibiting more than a dozen paintings — inspired by his personal experiences and featured him as the subject.
But the evening, attended by the Dubai's well-heeled set, did not end with the art exhibition. A charity auction by Standard Chartered Private Bank saw one precious painting — a charcoal portrait — go under the hammer and was topped off by Khan at his confessional best.
Audibly-excited TV anchor Mohan Kapoor set the ball rolling by calling the 45-year-old actor on the stage.
"Treat me like a new kid on the block. To be perfectly honest, I have been invited to many art exhibitions and I find them ridiculously expensive," said Khan.
Grounded
"I even came up with a strategy. Whenever I attended an art exhibition, I used to go looking for a painting with the red dot and exclaim ‘what a pity, it is already sold'. Or I used to buy the smallest and the cheapest painting. After all money is going out of our pockets," Khan added.
Unusually pragmatic, it was entertaining to see one of Bollywood's most impulsive stars so grounded.
For all those outside the Bollywood orbit, the erratic star is legendary for his romantic break-ups and bust-ups with his colleagues.
But his loyalists are many.
"When you are into charity, you end up begging for money. I wasn't very comfortable with that. So I began painting. Remember the painting that you buy today is not going to make me rich, but it's going to save many lives," he told the crowd before the auction began.
The money raised at the auction will go to his Being Human charity organisation. Although Bollywood insiders swore by his paintings, this was the first time that Khan has openly spoken about it. He attributes his talent to his mother.
"I think I got it from my mother. It's in her genes. Though she has only painted two paintings in her whole life," he said.
Emotional outlet
The notorious actor, who was once imprisoned for running over street-dwellers and hunting endangered black bucks, says he began painting as an emotional outlet.
"There were times when I wanted to say something and it ended up coming out all wrong. I have got into trouble. While painting, it's only me."
"As an actor you are lying all the time. Even if you hate your co-star, you have to pretend that you love her. Even if you are depressed, you have to pull off a comedy scene. While painting, there is so such cover. It's all you."
But putting his real self out there comes with baggage. His biggest fear, he said, was that nobody would turn up for the charity auction.
"Out here it is just me. Everybody has a fear of not being appreciated. That was my fear today — before you all came in. I felt that young kid again, who is throwing a party but secretly fears nobody will turn up."
His fears were unfounded. The confessions from the misunderstood star put many at ease and in turn made them loosen their purse strings.
The unveiling of the portrait which was put up for auction was met with a thunderous applause. The bidding began at Dh185,000 and crept up to a whopping Dh350,000. Dubai-based power couple Saif and Sarah Belhasa made the final bid and put Khan's fears to rest.
Khan speaks about his frame of mind while painting …
KEEPING MUM: "I call my mother ‘Gabriel shock absorber'. Even tonight, she has called me at least 10 times to know what is happening. She is always worried. Few days ago, there was a cop near my house and mum turned to me to ask ‘what happened now?' Mothers always worry."
343...THE NUMBER GAME: "I actually wrote that number when I was in jail. One day my parents came to see me in the jail. Cops greeted them as Mr and Mrs Khan and turned and shouted, ‘Hi qaidi [prisoner] number 343'. That's when I realised, what's in a name?"
Khan's take on…
Being voted as one of the sexiest man by People magazine: "I was shocked. In my own building there are guys who are better looking than me."
The most expensive piece of art he ever bought: "There was a time when I had to cough up Rs18 lakhs [Dh143,676] for a painting. I almost died of a heart attack."
Taking up his paint brush for the first time: "As a child I used to paint. But when I grew up there was a time when I couldn't sleep. That's time when I started painting seriously."
