Khan’s unstoppable box office appeal – ‘Sultan’ enjoys highest-grossing opening weekend in Hindi cinema history

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MUMBAI, July 15, (Agencies): He’s been accused of killing a homeless man, shooting dead an endangered animal and assaulting a former Miss World but it seems nothing can stop the box office appeal of Bollywood bad boy Salman Khan.

The Indian superstar’s latest blockbuster smashed records this week, just over a fortnight after he sparked fresh controversy by saying his heavy training schedule for the film left him feeling “like a raped woman”.

“Sultan”, in which Khan plays an ageing wrestler, enjoyed the highest-grossing opening weekend in Hindi cinema history, proving that for his legions of fans the body-building actor can do no wrong.

“I watch every Salman film. I love him. He is the reason I am in this profession,” Abhishek, a buff Mumbai fitness trainer, told AFP.

The actor known as “bhai”, meaning “brother” in Hindi, enjoys a cult-like status in star-obsessed India, with the majority of his devotees young men who envy Khan for being unmarried at 50.

They are largely from Mumbai’s mass of migrant workers who eke out a hardscrabble living in the sprawling financial capital but dream of a more glamorous life.

Invariably, they emulate his hairstyle and fashion, wearing pirated t-shirts emblazoned with Khan’s charity “Being Human”. At weekends they gather outside his home where Khan waves at fans from his balcony.

“He has always been the poster boy of a large section of the youth population,” filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, who directed Khan in 2007 romantic drama “Salaam E Ishq”, told AFP.

The majority are not on Twitter and are immune to social media outcries such as the one Khan sparked last month when his rape analogy made to a local news site went viral.

Khan has not apologised for the comments, as demanded by India’s National Commission for Women, but his father Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan made an apology of sorts on his son’s behalf.

Khan has starred in more than 100 films and television shows since his first hit “Maine Pyar Kiya” (I Fell in Love) in the 1980s. But his personal life has long been dogged by controversy.

Although he was cleared last year of killing a homeless man in a late-night hit-and-run crash in 2002, that decision is now being challenged in the Supreme Court.

Khan is also battling allegations he used unlicensed arms to shoot an endangered Indian antelope for which he spent a week behind bars in 1998.

His image also took a hit when former Miss World and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai accused Khan of assaulting her during a relationship which ended more than a decade ago. Khan has denied ever hitting any women.

The controversies haven’t stopped him becoming one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars with “Sultan” making over two billion rupees ($31 million) in the week since its July 6 release, according to industry estimates.

Boosted

Khan earned more than $33 million in 2015 alone. His earnings have been boosted in recent years by regularly playing the lead in India’s annual Eid blockbuster, capitalising on one of the year’s major holidays.

Director Kabir Khan, who worked with Khan on the movie “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, believes his misdemeanours hint at a “vulnerability” that audiences relate to.

“He makes politically incorrect statements but that seems to endear him to audiences who see him the way he is,” he told AFP.

“He’s immensely popular because he wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s a bad boy and a brat, but then he does all this good work with Being Human.

“His fans stand by him and overlook many of his indiscretions by saying his heart is in the right place.”

Filmmakers say Khan’s popularity is sky-high as he’s now also winning over wealthier cinema-goers who previously tended to prefer the cleaner-cut images of Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.

Khan describes himself as a “humanitarian” on his Twitter profile and filmmaker Advani believes his “image makeover” has helped him persuade fans “to feel that he was always misunderstood and somewhat scapegoated”.

Khan’s following has been enhanced by his hosting of the Indian version of reality TV show “Big Brother”. He’s also won praise for taking on difficult roles, such as “Sultan”, where his weight fluctuates wildly.

“He isn’t just playing safe and holding on to the success, unlike some of his peers,” said Kabir Khan.

“Audiences are responding to that effort and he’s attracting audiences outside of the cult followers, including women and children. His fans are growing.”

Veteran Taiwanese actor Leon Dai has been removed from Chinese film “No Other Love” because of his alleged support for Taiwanese independence.

The film is directed by popular actress Vicky Zhao Wei and backed by mainland Chinese companies including Alibaba Pictures Group. Production is headed by Max Film.

The film’s production team issued a statement Friday saying that the director and investors were not satisfied with Dai’s recent clarification of his position on the issue and that he would therefore be replaced as the lead actor. They apologized “for hiring the wrong person.”

The film had completed principal photography in June and had begun post production. Replacing Dai would therefore appear to require extensive reshooting. The production team and investors offered no clarification on that point.

Alibaba Pictures told Variety that it was not the principal investor and had not taken part in the original casting decisions.

The statement said the production team did not have a thorough understanding of Dai’s political position. “After multiple communications with Mr Dai, his stance was still unclear as of last night. Therefore, the director and all investors unanimously agreed to remove Dai from his leading role,” the statement said.

“The director and the entire crew dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to China,” it continued. “We are all Chinese, and we firmly support the one China policy. Our country’s interests are our top priorities Any ambiguous stance over the country and national identity is intolerable.”

Taiwan broke away from China in 1949 as Communist forces took over continental China and hundreds of thousands fled to the island. It has been self-governed since then, but China regards it as a rebel province with which it will eventually be reunited, by force if necessary.

Dai, who co-starred in last year’s Cannes competition film “The Assassin,” by Hou Hsiao-hsien, is a familiar figure in movies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and is set to appear in no less than 11 films in 2015 and 2016.

He also won the Golden Horse Award in 2009 as best director for his “Cannot Live Without You” (aka “No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti”.) The film also collected the best film prize and was Taiwan’s submission for the foreign-language Oscars.

In the run up to the recent decision about China’s economic position in the South China Sea, Zhao and the film makers had come under pressure from patriotic mainland forces. Many used Chinese social media to call for a boycott of Zhao and the film if Dai were not removed from the picture.

On June 30 Dai issued a statement on his Weibo social media account. In it he said it was wrong to characterize him as in favor of Taiwanese independence. He confirmed that he had previously spoken out against forced evictions and nuclear power, and in favor of gay rights, but had never joined a political party. He said that he was “against oppression and respects the views of other people.”

Chinese nationalists have been playing an active role in the Internet realm over the past week. Some Hong Kong celebrities also came under fire for not posting patriotic messages following the Hague ruling on South China Sea disputes.

After the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled against China’s claims over territorial control in the South China Sea, many Hong Kong and mainland Chinese celebrities such as mainland actress Fan Bingbing and actor Huang Xiaoming posted patriotic messages and a map that included the territory in question on their social media to protest against the ruling.

Action star Jackie Chan, despite being widely known for his patriotic stance, was criticized by netizens for posting his pictures with Fan – his co-star in “Skiptrace” — instead of messages against the Hague ruling.

 

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