Stay with me on this one. Think of your favourite Salman Khan blockbuster of recent times.
Now try to recollect its story.
Chances are that you will remember the detailing on his leather jacket or that stylish way in which he flipped his sunglasses, but the actual plot may elude you. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Millions of his fans flock to the cinemas to watch Khan and his exuberant on-screen persona.
Whether he’s playing a cheeky cop in the hit Dabangg series or a quick-thinking spy in Ek Tha Tiger, the beefy actor can inject believability into any implausible situation. His star power can elevate a good film into a money-spinner. So do his films even need a story or is he enough to carry it to the finish line?
We caught up with Indian novelist Chetan Bhagat, who co-wrote the script for Khan’s Eid release, Kick, to get to the bottom of it. Bhagat’s novels have been successfully been made into films such as Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots (Five Point Someone) and 2 States featuring Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. According to Bhagat, who’s currently working on a new novel (a love story between a rural boy and girl in a city), there may be a certain winning formula (songs, action and larger-than-life characters) to Khan’s films, but the trick is to treat it differently.
“In Kick, even the other characters have good parts and are well-written... We have tried to be fresh in every department,” said Bhagat. Excerpts from the interview:
Does a Salman Khan film need a strong story?
I am the writer for Kick and it has a story. Even a Salman Khan film needs a script. Nowadays, the expectations among viewers are rising. Perhaps for a Salman Khan film you may need a different kind of script. It needs to be a minute-to-minute entertainer that is fun. But it need not be some deep, meaningful cinema.
So what’s the story of Kick?
It is a story of a man who lives for a kick — an adrenaline rush — in life and is searching for that ultimate kick. The plus and the minus that’s involved in leading such a life and the consequences of a man who lives for that certain kick is what the film is all about.
Was there a process of unlearning for you?
It was a different approach, when compared to writing the screenplay for Kai Po Che!. Here, it was just not my own vision, it was Sajid Nadiadwala’s [director and producer of Kick] vision too. I am playing a supporting role here. He understands Salman and his fans better than me. They had to tell me and guide me about what they are looking for. They were looking for entertainment in every scene and I knew we couldn’t deviate from that.
Did you cringe writing some of the lines, that perhaps sound good only if spoken by Khan?
The dialogue writer for this film is Rajat Arora who has worked on projects such as The Dirty Picture and Once Upon A Time In Mumbai. Salman can lift a scene. Some scenes may not look great on paper, but he has his own take on it. He’s the star and, often, whatever he does he makes it entertaining.
How involved was Khan in the creative process?
He was pretty hands-off. Sometimes on the set, he would give suggestions. But Sajid has been his best friend for over 20 years and I found that Salman trusted him completely.
Most of your characters in your novels are the quintessential underdogs. What were the challenges you faced while writing the screenplay for Kick?
Kick was a big departure for me. When I write a character, it tends to be a first-person narration. They are humble characters. I can’t show a first-person narration in a novel and say ‘I beat up 20 people’. It won’t stick. But in a movie, an omniscient narration, I can show Salman in that light. But you will find tiny shades of Chetan Bhagat in the movie. I have tried to put a vulnerability to the hero and that will make him even more likeable to the audience.
