As veteran screenwriter Salim Khan turned 87 on November 24 2022, here's looking at his glorious journey in tinsel town through a collection of rare pictures of him and his family. (All pictures courtesy: Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan's Instagram account)
Updated On: 2022-11-24 08:17 PM IST
Born in Indore on November 24, Salim Khan belongs to an affluent family. Salim Khan's grandfather, Anwar Khan, was an Alakozai Pashtun who migrated from British Madras to India in the mid-1800s and served in the cavalry of the British Indian Army. While looking out for employment in government service, Salim Khan's family later settled in Indore.
In picture: Salim Khan and Salma Khan with their granddaughter Alizeh Agnihotri (Alvira and Atul Agnihotri's daughter)
The veteran screenwriter is best known for being one half of the prolific screenwriting duo of Salim-Javed, along with Javed Akhtar. The duo Salim-Javed were the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, and later on became two of the most successful Indian screenwriters of all time.
In picture: An old image of a young Salim Khan. Now we know where Salman Khan gets his good looks from.
Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar have spent most of their career working together for Bollywood, where Salim Khan was largely responsible for developing the stories and characters around the movie, Javed Akhtar developed hard-hitting dialogues for the script. The Salim-Javed duo revolutionised Indian cinema in the 1970s.
In picture: Salman Khan, Salim Khan and Sohail Khan went shirtless for this picture! It seems Salman has gotten his swag from dad Salim.
Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar were not only truly responsible for transforming and reinventing the Bollywood formula, but also pioneering the Bollywood blockbuster format. The duo collectively has given their career to masala films.
In picture: Salman Khan's father Salim Khan plays with a dog. Looks like Salman is a chip off the old block as far as his love for animals goes.
Salim Khan was mainly responsible for creating the 'angry young man' archetype character for Amitabh Bachchan, which gave him a different persona altogether in Bollywood. Their films are among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, including Sholay (1975), the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, as well as films such as Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Zanjeer (1973), Deewaar (1975), Kranti (1981), and the Don franchise. Sholay is also considered to be one of the greatest Indian films of all time.
In picture: Arbaaz Khan clicks a selfie with dad Salim Khan.
Salim Khan married Sushila Charak, now known as Salma Khan in 1964, and later, he also tied the knot with Helen Richardson Khan in 1981. The father of three Bollywood actors, Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, and Arbaaz Khan, film producer Alvira Khan Agnihotri and Arpita Khan Sharma, has also won six Filmfare Awards as part of Salim-Javed, and he was later awarded the Padma Shri in 2014.
In picture: Salman Khan's mother Salma seen practising yoga in this picture. Salman shares a close bond with his mom.
But did you know Salim Khan refused to accept the Padma Shri honour, the fourth highest civilian award in the country? In an old interview with mid-day, the screenwriter said: 'Now they are offering me the award that the others received much earlier. My contribution to cinema has been much more than what is being offered to me (as an acknowledgement). So, I have refused to accept it.'
In picture: A vintage photo of a young Salman Khan with brother Sohail Khan.
Despite giving so many hits to the Hindi film industry, Salim Khan said to the hit-list team that he wouldn't like to pen his star son Salman Khan's films. When asked why, the veteran further added that he would be blamed if the movie proved to be a box office dud, but his superstar son would get all the credit if it performed well.
In picture: A childhood photo of Salman Khan with siblings Arbaaz Khan, Alvira Agnihotri and Sohail Khan.
Only a few would know that Salim Khan had written Salman Khan's 1991 film, Patthar Ke Phool, which did fairly well. The veteran feels that time has come for scriptwriters to get their due as stars usually pocket credit when a film does well.
In picture: Salman Khan poses with his brothers Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan and form a tricolour.
Salman Khan caught by the camera sharing a laugh with his brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri (husband of Alvira Agnihotri) and brother Sohail Khan in an undated picture.
This image of Salman Khan feeding his nephew Ahil Sharma is simply adorable. Salman Khan's sister Arpita Khan Sharma married Aayush Sharma on November 18, 2014, and the duo gave birth to an adorable child, Ahil. The little munchkin is three, and Salman is often spotted sharing pictures of the two on social media.
Salman Khan poses with his mother Salma Khan, nephew Nirvaan, Sonakshi Sinha, Niketan Madhok and Daisy Shah. It was taken when he left for the 'Dabangg' tour in Delhi.
Salman Khan, Atul Agnihotri, Baby Ahil, Sohail Khan, Daisy Shah, Alvira Agnihotri, Salma Khan, Maniesh Paul, Sooraj Pancholi, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arbaaz Khan and other guests click a picture at a friend's birthday.
Salman Khan may be a bachelor but one look at these pictures and you will agree that he is definitely a complete family man. Arpita Khan Sharma's wedding was one big bash where Bollywood's entire fraternity was invited to share the happiness.
Salman Khan's mother Salma Khan with grandson Ahil, son of Salman's sister Arpita Khan Sharma and Aayush Sharma.
Salman Khan shared the first picture of Ahil where he showered his little nephew with loads of love and affection in this picture.
Salman Khan bonds with his pet dog My Love, who passed away in 2018.
Salman Khan shares a close bond with brothers Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan's sons Arhaan, Nirvaan and Yohan.
This image of Salman Khan playing with nephew Yohan is simply adorable.
Salman Khan with Atul Agnihotri, Arpita Khan Sharma, Sohail Khan and other family members during a holiday to Goa.
Here's wishing a very happy birthday to Salim Khan!