Bollywood actor Salman Khan plays a glacial bodyguard in his Eid release and we wonder if he has taken his onscreen persona a bit too seriously. When tabloid! caught up with him over the phone to speak about his latest drama, Bodyguard, he was a man of few words. And when he did muster enough energy to speak up, he was barely audible.
Perhaps, it was his facial nerve condition (trigeminal neuralgia) that was troubling him. The Ready star flew to the US on Monday for surgery.
"Yeah, I am in terrible pain — terrible. Anyway, Bodyguard is a film that got me really excited. After Dabangg and Ready, people's expectations are very high. We have tried to make it enjoyable for everybody — it's a part of their Eid celebrations," said Khan.
Known for his charismatic onscreen presence rather than his acting chops, Bodyguard seems to have all the ingredients to make it perfect blockbuster material.
A titillating item song with scorcher Katrina Kaif, high-octane stunt sequences with Khan — baring his torso — and whistle-inducing one-liners have all been included with due diligence. And even though it's a remake of Malayalam film of the same title, Khan says the script was radically tweaked to suit the palate of his fans.
Budget
According to Bodyguard's co-producer Atul Agnihotri, the film's budget is 15 times higher than the original film, which starred South Indian actors Dileep and Nayanthara.
"It's not a remake because it's impossible to make a film frame by frame. When my fans go to see my movie, they expect entertainment, so I sat down with Siddique [the director] and made a lot of changes. I suggested ideas that will be liked by my audience here. But no, I am not the scriptwriter," said Khan.
Normally, such interferences are looked upon as stepping on the director's toes and muzzling their creative freedom, but Siddique has no such hang-ups.
"The best part about Salman is that we don't have to second-guess him. He is honest and will say whatever is in his mind. No games — that's why I admire him. He's very open about what he wants," said Siddique in revered tones.
Though he has directed several Malayalam blockbusters, including Godfather and Ramji Rao Speaking, Bodyguard is Siddique's first step into Bollywood and Khan's suggestions about Bollywood-ising Bodyguard were lapped up immediately.
Professional
"There's a certain image attached to Salman Khan. In the Malayalam film, the lead hero was a school drop-out, but in Hindi we made him a professional bodyguard. That's how it works."
Translation? Khan — one of India's deified heroes — is often shown as an extraordinary being with super-human qualities. For instance in Khan's 2010 Eid blockbuster Dabangg, he played the lovable corrupt cop, Chulbul Pandey — who could flip aviators with a swish, bash up half a dozen weapon-toting villains in a minute and even do a jig in between the fights. So a school drop-out would perhaps indicate that Khan is mortal and go against the grain of Khan's persona.
"Salman knows the industry well and understands the movie business. I feel I am lucky that he chose to be in my first Bollywood film. I still remember the day he picked up his phone and said that he will do my film. How many superstars will do that?"
According to the director, half the battle was won when Khan deigned to act in his directorial venture. The actor, with considerable clout among his own peers, even convinced his former lover Kaif to make a cameo appearance.
Rumour has it that this move didn't go down too well with the leading lady Kareena Kapoor, who plays Divya — a rich business tycoon's daughter.
"I am not aware of this. In fact, Kareena told me that she is very happy with the way her role has shaped up and Katrina plays herself in the opening credit song. See the film and you will know what I am talking about. It will all make sense."
Quote unquote
"It's not true."
— Salman Khan when asked if his real-life bodyguard Shera had assaulted one of his fans during his recent visit to Kanpur.
"Let's stick to Bodyguard"
— Salman Khan when asked about his stand on anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare.
