On a strong wicket

Bollywood actor Salman Khan arrived in Dubai at the weekend with a star-studded entourage to start the second season of the Celebrity Cricket League in Sharjah, to be held on January 13 and 14. Khan, the face of the Mumbai Heroes — a team filled with Bollywood actors — promised to up the team's game and demolish their opponents, the Chennai Rhinos and Karnataka Bulldozers.

"As stars, we only like to bowl and bat. Fielding and taking catches were not important in our eyes, that's where we went wrong. But we will be back with a strong fielding attack," said Khan.

Though the Bodyguard star will not play in the game due to his ongoing nerve disorder, he promised to lend his moral support by cheering his boys on from the sidelines.

Hopefully he'll get some tips from the two cheerleaders who accompanied him at the press conference — his three-time co-star Sonakshi Sinha, and Fashion actress Kangna Ranaut.

tabloid! chatted — for the given three minutes only — to the three about work, life, and a little thing called cricket.

Player 1: Salman Khan

Bollywood idol Salman Khan's films are critic-unfriendly but his box office hold is becoming invincible. Take his latest blockbuster, Bodyguard: he plays Lovely Singh, a man who can leap from trains and bash up baddies single-handedly, all the while holding onto the helpless damsel with his free hand. Each blow he dishes out is accompanied by crackling sound-effects, making him out to be an indestructible force.

He's even been bestowed the epithet of being Bollywood's answer to Rajnikanth, the South Indian grand-daddy who oozes style while executing unbelievable on-screen antics.

But Khan, 46, shrugs off the title and says there can only be one Rajnikanth.

You have enjoyed a phenomenal run at the box-office with Bodyguard and Ready. How are you taking it all in?

Now that these films are a hit and have become a phenomenon, it feels good. But I have always believed never to expect anything till the audience haven't give the go-ahead. If they haven't liked your film, my efforts are useless. I may feel that I have made the best film on earth, spent ludicrous amounts of money [on it], but if the audience straight out rejects it, then what's the point of it all?

I want the audience to go and enjoy my films. I don't care for the rest.

How are you feeling health-wise after the surgery?

My health is fine, but I just need to take it easy for a while. The pain is gone, but the aneurism is still there. I am going back to the US soon for another check-up. If the aneurism is a size smaller, then we may have to take it off again.

Did you have to slow down because of the nerve problem?

I can't slow down, even in the literal sense. In my next film, Ek Tha Tiger, I have to run really fast and kick really high. And since I had to begin shoot immediately after the surgery, I couldn't take the rest that I was originally asked to take. But I feel good.

Ek Tha Tiger is creating a lot of buzz. Is it bigger and better than Bodyguard?

I don't know about that. I prefer calling it Tiger, because when you translate it word by word it means "there was a tiger". Somehow, it gives our audience the feeling that my character will die at the end of the film. But I won't die.

You are being touted as the Rajnikanth of Bollywood. How do you take that?

No, that's not true. Rajnikanth is in a different league altogether. I just try and do my bit. I try and select films that are good for me and based on what I would go and watch in a theatre personally.

Perhaps I have been lucky with it so far. But there may come a time when I may go a bit overboard with the action sequences and the audience may go: "Itna bhi nahi yaar, aisa kya thodi hota hai" [Not so much, pal, this is too much for us to digest]. And that film might not go down well with the audience.

Right now, I am holding on to the table as tight as I can and enjoying the run.

Would you call this the best phase of your career?

No. The best phase of my career is yet to come. I am not done here.

Cheerleader 1: Sonakshi Sinha

In Bollywood circles, she's known as the Dabangg girl. Hailed as one of the most promising newcomers in Bollywood, Sinha is particular that she continues to ride on the steam generated by the Salman Khan-starrer.

Recently, she even rejected a role in the thriller Race 2 to make way for the shooting of Dabangg 2, which will be directed by Arbaaz Khan.

Yet she says she has no regrets.

Are you interested in cricket, or will you just be cheering for the Mumbai Heroes at the match in Sharjah next year?

I enjoy watching cricket, especially the T20 matches. They are short, sweet and a lot of fun. Personally, I am quite sporty. I enjoy volleyball and love swimming.

Now, there's hardly any time for sports because I am busy shooting. But even then I try to include a bit of fun. While I was shooting for Joker recently, we put up a volleyball court on the sets and we used to play in our down-time.

Speaking of Joker, your racy song Dance Karle English Mein is being touted as your first item song... (Item songs are dance numbers that have no particular relevance to a script, but are included primarily to titillate.)

I wouldn't call it a typical item number because often item numbers are performed by actresses who are not in the film but are called on for a particular song. I am a part of the Joker cast. But since the song is choreographed by Farah Khan (the brain behind Sheila Ki Jawani and Munni Badnaam Hui), many just assume that this is an item number.

In my opinion, there's a thin line between normal film song and an item song. But I am open to do item numbers if it matches my sensibilities and my personality. At the end of the day, it's song and dance.

You recently rejected Race 2 to accommodate Dabangg 2. How do you feel about losing out on a plum thriller?

It's not about picking and choosing per se. It's about ethics and which film I had committed to doing first.

Unfortunately, the Race 2 shooting was pushed forward and that meant that it ate into my Dabangg 2 dates. So there was no way I could accommodate both films. So I just had to let go of Race 2. It's unfortunate since [Race 2 producer] Ramesh Tourani and [Race 2 director duo] Abbas-Mastan are such wonderful people.

But that means you are re-uniting with Salman Khan, your mentor?

It feels great. Your first film is always special to you and your first co-star is equally special. I can't wait to re-live the whole Dabangg experience again and begin shooting with Salman, Arbaaz and the whole crew again.

Cheerleader 2: Kangna Ranaut

Trust Kangna Ranaut to do justice to dark and brooding roles. But now she's more than happy to leave her drug-addict and schizophrenic characters behind her as she takes on Krissh 3.

Her role? That of a superwoman.

Do you follow cricket?

No. I don't follow the game. But my friends asked me to be the brand ambassador of Celebrity Cricket League and I am happy to be with the team cheering the players on. Even if I were interested in the game, I would not have been able to watch it because of my busy schedule.

So what are you currently working on?

I am working on Krissh 3. I play a superwoman. It's Bollywood's version of Wonder Woman-meets-Catwoman-meets-Supergirl.

How are you preparing for the role?

After taking up the role, my life has changed dramatically. I wake up at 5am and start training. I am learning how to flip, do somersaults and kicks.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to learn any martial arts like Taekwondo. But I want to make my body supple so that all my action sequences look natural.

So have you decided on your superwoman suit?

Designer Gavin is deciding on my look and he is scouting for fabrics in the US. All I know is that it's going to be a translucent, plastic-like body sheath. I may have to use oil to pull it all on.

Who's your favourite on-screen superwoman and what's the one super-power that you would love to have?

Charlize Theron in Aeon Flux and if I could ask for one super-power, it will be the magical ability to shut people up. I don't mean you, but there are some stupid people on this earth who make stupid remarks about me. I wish I could zip their mouths.