27 December,2021 08:40 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Salman Khan Picture Courtesy: AFP
Salman Khan's 33 years of work barely feels that long. The kind of unpredictable nature his career boasts off, it's fitting to say the man debuts with every film. The actor transformed into a Superstar as time passed by and by the time Dabangg happened, it became less about his films and more about him, especially how his introduction scene would pan out. Here are some of his best:
An actor aspires to be an actor in this cult comedy. The first glimpse of Prem, a moniker that has achieved immortality, is making poker faces to impress his supposed director, the legendary Mehmood. This was Khan at his unabashed best when the hunger was to perform, and vanity was yet to overpower vulnerability.
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We first see his silhouette, with the pulsating beats of the unforgettable 'Oh Oh Jaane Jaana'. He's coming on a bike and sans a shirt. This was the best shirtless Salman Khan the world ever saw and the most charming and crooked in all the cute ways. By the time the song was over, it was already a classic.
Again, a silhouette that haunts the villains and swells the fans is the first glimpse we see of him. This was the film that transformed Salman Khan into a Superstar, a Superhero, the Bhai of Bollywood. It was a sort of reinvention, after six consecutive failures. Khan, rechristened as Bhai, found his footing. Reducing an army of villains into pulp without his shirt and without being scathed was his calling all along. All he had to do was look for some inspiration in the South.
By the time Dabangg happened, he was the infallible force of nature and box-office. Chulbul Pandey was Khan at his charismatic best. It didn't matter which milieu he was thrown into, his persona always was and will be contagious and irresistible. He smashes a door and walks in slow motion with shades and swagger on. One would like to believe the character never saw a franchise in the making.
He gets two entry shots. There's something about Salman and silhouettes. Here too, he walks in slow-motion and all we get to see is a glimpse of his character who's a spy. The crowd has already erupted even without watching his face. His face is revealed barely two minutes later, when he eliminates an employee who has turned rogue. His scarf moves away, slowly revealing his bruised face and cigarettes flipping in the air. It's a classic moment followed by a stylishly choreographed action set-piece.
A mute girl from Pakistan is lost in India. A man says there would be someone in an alien land that will help her in her journey back home. Needless to say, it has to be Salman Khan. The auditorium is prepared for his entry already. We see his character, Pavan, again in slow-motion, a Hanuman devotee, celebrating Hanuman Jayanti. We first see his locket that is the Hanuman Mace and then his expressive and energetic eyes. Pavan is Khan's most vulnerable character in years, and the most heroic.
