Here's the inside story of how Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was discovered at the age of 16 for his first ad! Did you know he jumped into shark-infested waters? Read to know more
How Salman Khan was discovered at the age of 16 for his first ad
Salman Khan
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Stars are born through many ways, through an element of talent, presence, hard work or just plain good luck. But stars can only be born if there is someone to notice them. And this story of how Salman Khan was discovered points to a happy combination of all elements.
"We needed good swimmers, who could swim underwater for the Campa Cola ad campaign, we were shooting in the Andaman Islands," says leading ad filmmaker Kailash Surendranath, about a delightful clip that's been doing the rounds on social media, featuring a very young and fresh Khan along with the top models of the era, Shiraz Merchant, Sunil Nischol, Vanessa Vaz, Ayesha Shroff and Aarti Gupta (who was dating Surendranath and later married him).
Kailash Surendranath
"Fortunately, Aarti found Salman. Her dad had suggested him, as he was a friend of Salim saab," says Surendranath. "He was just 16 at that time, but she'd seen him dive underwater and told me he was perfect, and packed him off to me," he says, adding, "But when I saw him, I was amused as he looked like a kid. But then on Aarti's insistence, I made him take off his shirt and boy, even at that age he was ripped! So we signed him on."
Aarti Surendranath
"When he reached the airport to fly to the Andaman Islands, he came dressed very smartly and snazzily, but when he saw Jackie Shroff (who had come to drop Ayesha as they too were dating) and the other models, he got cold feet and almost turned around to go back home. Aarti caught him and reassured that all would be fine, and from that day on, he was at our home all the time. He also became a member of the family," he recalls.
As for Khan's obvious animal magnetism, Surendranath, the son of a veteran 50's star, says, "Salman was a fish underwater and his energy was absolutely delightful. He never hesitated to jump off the boat for a shot, despite the shark-infested waters. We bonded somewhere underwater, as we were the only swimmers venturing into the wild open deep sea, regardless of the risks involved," he says. Something's never change, we guess.
WATCH SALMAN KHAN'S FIRST AD:
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