Bollywood actor Salman Khan was in the midst of filming crucial stunt scenes for his Eid release Race 3 in Abu Dhabi in April, when he had to return to India to face a court trial in Jodhpur court.
The megastar with a loyal fan base was accused of poaching endangered antelopes nearly 20 years ago. He was sentenced to five years in prison, a decision that he has appealed against, and was labelled as a ‘habitual offender’ by the judge. Any other public figure, who was out on bail for an alleged hunting crime that he committed 20 years ago, may have crumbled under such scrutiny. But not Khan.
Ask him how he managed to keep his head above the legal troubles and Khan is clinically pragmatic.
“When a film releases, you can’t have a subtitle below saying that I am looking terrible on the screen because I was not feeling well that day or facing some external problem. Once your face is on the camera, you just need to give your best,” said Khan in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
Such stoic professionalism in the face of personal anguish is impressive, especially coming from an actor who has faced his fair share of run-ins with the law on charges including a 2002 hit-and-run accident that resulted in the death of a homeless man, and accusations of physically assaulting his former girlfriends.
“People pay a lot of money to buy tickets. It’s not their fault. As an actor, you have to make sure that the people in the theatres don’t know what is going on in your life or mind. It’s not about me. It’s an actor’s responsibility to put our professional lives above our personal life.”
Khan seems to have kept his end of the promise.
The glossy, adrenaline-charged trailers show a buffed Khan in top form as the suave Sikander in Remo D’Souza-directed thriller, Race 3.
Credit is due to Khan for maintaining a squeaky clean larger-than-life persona on the life screen. He may be a flawed celebrity in real life, but on the big screen he’s that proverbial knight that saves the day. In films such as Bhajrangi Bhaijaan and Tubelight, he is staunchly idealistic and artless. His films, which usually release around the festive season, are strictly family-friendly entertainers.
Khan’s entry into the risque Race franchise, which is known for its wealthy characters who scheme for a living, engage unscrupulously in sensually-charged affairs and deadly deceptions, meant just one thing. Race 3 has been sanitised, in true Salman Khan style.
The actor, who is also a co-producer and distributer of this film, claims that initially he thought that he wasn’t cut out for a franchise like Race. In other words, Race 3 is a no-sleaze zone.
“I am very awkward in such [sexually charged] scenes. I don’t believe in ‘A’ [Adult] films. I only believe in U/A certification. Watching my movies is the only entertainment left where you can go with your families and children. I don’t want them to get awkward. But Race is not Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!,” said Khan with a laugh, referring to his 1994 blockbuster wedding musical filled with utopian relationships. Everyone in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! was jolly and cheerful.
But Khan is likely to make up for the lack of heat by overcompensating it with style, glamour and adrenaline-charged stunt sequences.
“You just can’t take the risk of alienating them [his fans] by doing something crass and making them wonder: ‘yeh kya kar raha hai’ [What’s he doing?] … We are stylish in Race 3, our clothes, watches and shoes are stylish but our heart will always remain desi.”
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Don’t miss it!
Race 3 releases in the UAE on June 14.
DID YOU KNOW?
Salman Khan, who spent more than 35 days in Abu Dhabi filming his new thriller Race 3, gives his take on filming in the UAE and more …
Abu Dhabi, as a filming destination: “We loved the experience of filming there. TwoFour54 [the media company that facilitates film shoots] gave us incredible support with the motorcycle and car chases. Our stunts were done on highways and roads within the city. The government was so co-operative. I shot Tiger Zinda Hai there too.”
On using body doubles for the stunts: “We used trained professional for car chase stunts. But whatever we could do, we did it ourselves. But the scenes were cars are blown apart, we were not in them. But Race 3 has some incredible action scenes and Tom Struthers is an amazing professional with a great temperament.”
Did you know?
Bharat starring Salman Khan and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar will be partly filmed in Abu Dhabi.
