Are SRK the Sensitive and Aamir the Sophisticated making way for the Salman swagger
There’s is this 26-year-old lady whose Facebook status message says she has been “shamelessly” waiting to see Dabangg. She gets a smattering of responses, some of which, mainly from those in their teens, express dismay over her eagerness, but there are many others who echo it.
Even if this was a stray instance, it had to be taken seriously. After all, we live in a world where Britain’s new Prime Minister seeks advice from Facebook founder and boss Mark Zuckerberg — unprofitable though his company might be despite its 500 million users — on how to be responsible for and accountable to millions of people. But, going by the early signs, the aforementioned lady’s enthusiasm may not be isolated.
There is a buzz around Dabangg, the new Salman Khan film. As this article gets written a day before the film’s commercial release, executives of multiplex chains swear that there is tremendous advance booking for the film. But you wouldn’t expect anything else from them, would you? In any case, Dabangg right now is not about business; it is about the buzz. It is not about multiplexes either; it is about the people who constitute the multiplex population, which is very similarly to the Facebook citizenry.
This population so far was not really into Salman Khan. Armed with the latest phones (not much use to them, though) and the heady confidence that has become their calling card, the citizens of this kingdom rooted for Shah Rukh, the Sensitive, Khan and Aamir, the Sophisticated, Khan. The first epitomises the sensitive man, the dependable friend, the loveable uncle, and the fun son – also the gay icon. The second tries to tell you to hone your sensibilities by watching good, global cinema.
But how long can you keep pandering to your finer senses? At some point, you would think you have had enough of the good friend or the didactic sophisticate and need to indulge in things more basic in nature. That is where Salman comes in. The editor of a weekend lifestyle supplement, who describes herself as a “south Bombay” girl, referred to him as “comfort food”. That sort of sums it up.
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Compared to Shah Rukh and Aamir, and to an extent Saif Ali, Salman is supposed to be a different sort of Khan. While the others hold sway at the multiplexes, among the English speaking audiences, Salman rules the single screens, where Hollywood films will not be released unless dubbed. Wanted (in which he mouths lines like ek bar jo maine commitment kar di to main khud ki bhi nahi sunta) may not have set multiplexes on fire but was nevertheless a confirmed hit. The songs of Partner and Judwaa (two of his biggest hits) could be easily heard in the killer blue line buses plying on Delhi’s roads, but in few drawing rooms.
Dabangg, though, has a different kind of buzz. One girl who thinks herself the representative of the quintessential “Delhi chick” begins to coo at the mention of the film. “His moustache!” she sighs, before launching into adjectives which will make her parents squirm. “There is something about his body language in this film,” says another. Yet another thinks that Dabangg’s promotional poster is truly cool.
Seen with some degree of objectivity, that moustache looks oily and artificial — a stick-on. That body language is of a man who was told to allow flesh to grow over his six-pack so he can look more like the Bihari cop he plays in the film. And that “cool” poster shows Salman wearing shades which have hearts on the glasses!
Every generation has its nostalgia decade. When the West was discovering the fascinating things that happened in the sixties, India was digging up the romance and melody of the seventies. Salman’s invasion of the Shah Rukh-Aamir fiefdom may signal that the seventies nostalgia has run its course. The eighties may take over. For, Salman, who made his film debut in the twilight months of the 1980s, has steadfastly stayed true to that decade.
His presence in the Johar-Chopra genre of sensitive cinema was mostly through guest appearances (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai). For the most part, Salman has carried the tag of the true macho-masala hero with trademark swagger. The designer sherwanis are for Shah Rukh’s wardrobe, the flimsy, white Greek-Roman dress can showcase Hrithik Roshan’s sculpted body. Salman would dish out the full beefcake at the drop of a — well, let’s avoid the cliché about his shirt. His characters would not care much about political correctness. In one of his big hits, Biwi No 1, he cheats on his wife with the casual air of a man going out for a beer with buddies. To his credit, he has been equally comfortable romancing women taller than him while making fun of his own height.
You cannot think of Salman without his leather jackets, wide belts (preferably with studs), dark sunglasses and towel dances. And then there are those lines which remind you of Shahenshah’s rishte mein to hum, tumhare baap lagte hain. For now, he is forging various other relationships on Facebook.