Happy Birthday Salman Khan: What makes him the Robin Hood of Bollywood

Salman Khan, or Bhai as he’s known to his fans, turns 56 on December 27. This year, his celebration is low-key, owing to the ongoing pandemic; he’s at his Panvel farmhouse with family. He cut a cake at midnight and even spoke to media gathered outside the large plot.

On December 27, the star talked to the media who had been camped outside his home. He talked about the incident on December 25 where he was bitten three times by a snake. “It wasn’t much, a snake had entered one of the rooms, the farmhouse is quite in the jungle in Panvel,” he told the media, according to Indian Express. “When the snake entered the room, kids got scared so I went in to see and asked for a stick, the stick that came was a small one so I asked for a longer stick, and they got one, with which I picked up the snake with a lot of love and brought it out, and the snake wrapped itself on the stick and then it started climbing upwards. It came quite close to my hand so I caught it with my other hand and dropped the stick to be able to leave the snake [in the jungle].”

Let's move onto the facts about the Indian superstar. Did you know that Khan credits one actress for his staying single? Yes, on the eighth season of reality show ‘Bigg Boss’, for which he plays host, Khan said that superstar Rekha is the reason he never got married. Incidentally, she was on his set at the time to promote her then just-released movie,’Super Nani’.

Khan is known for his chiseled physique, which he’s managed to maintain over years and years in the spotlight. The body hasn’t come without a price.

He follows harsh regimens to build muscles, stringent diets to control this weight and procedures to keep himself looking young, fresh and super fit.

For some in power, it’s all about holding on to it. This isn’t the case with Khan who is known to promote other, fresher faces in Bollywood. He’s been mentor and friend to a number of stars including Varun Dhawan, Katrina Kaif and his brother in law Aayush Sharma. Khan also shared screen space with his brother-in-law for the first time in Antim: The Final Truth.

He is a leading man i.e. he is often paired with younger heroines in his films. From Sneha Ullal to Disha Patani, Khan holds a record of doing the most films with younger actresses.

Khan chooses his roles with purpose. He always plays the good guy. Why? "Having worked in the film industry for so long, I have noticed that the youth often follow whatever a hero does. They blindly ape their favourite stars. That's why I have decided never to play a villain on screen because people can get impressed by my actions," he told Deccan Chronicle in a 2018 interview. "I don't want my fans to follow me and indulge in any wrong-doings," he added.

Khan is currently hosting 'Bigg Boss 15'. The bankable actor will also be returning with the sequel to the hit 2015 film ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. Khan will also be seen in the third installment of the ‘Tiger’ series, which sees another fan favourite, newlywed Katrina Kaif, by his side.

While he likes playing the good guy on screen, he has often villainized off the screen following his multiple brush ins with the law. His troubled relationship with the former beauty queen and actress Aishwarya Rai did not help his cause . She acussed him of “abuse, physical assault and indignity”, and his name was all over the news inviting scrutiny.

He is also notorious for picking a fight with Shah Rukh Khan at his former girlfriend Kaif’s birthday party. But the Khans have patched up since then and were spotted at Baba Siddiqui’s iftar party in 2020.

Moving on to wishes for Khan. Shilpa Shetty Kundra also shared a fun pic with her friend forever and called him family. She wrote, “Happy birthday, my forever Rockstar @BeingSalmanKhan. Thank you for always “Being YOUman”. Keep soaring and roaring, our TIGER! Loads of love, always #friendsforever #gratitude #blessed #friendslikefamily

Madhuri Dixit, who had worked with Salman in several hit movies including the blockbuster movie Hum Aapke Hain Koun, shared a throwback pic from their iconic family drama. She captioned it as, “Birthday greetings to the heartthrob of the industry @BeingSalmanKhan.''

Ajay Devgn also shared a pic with Salman Khan from the sets of 'Son Of Sardar' and wrote, “Happy Birthday, @BeingSalmanKhan! Wishing you love & happiness always...”.