SUPERSTAR SALMAN RETURNS

Salman Khan is back with his most anticipated flick of the year Wanted, which swears raw action, masala and incredible dance and goes on to give you more than you bargained for.

“Wanted provides the heaps with the hero they’ve been longing for,” said Salman. The film could possibly be a comeback for the actor who has suffered rather a few lows in the past year. Salman plays a disreputable hitman in the film and speaks of his character, “Like my dialogue in the film, Jab main koi commitment kar leta hoon toh phir main apni bhi nahi sunta, my character only listens to what his heart says, and he has no regret, and is as egotistical as a bull. He has a set of values which he won’t go against and will kill at the sight of money.”

Salman Khan has gone to the extremes for his film, right from bidding exit to a couple of his favourite vices to performing stunts and dancing like never before. “I have worked hard for the film, I did the stunts myself while cables were used only for a few. The dancing was the hardest part I think, Prabhu’s not called an elastic man for nothing. It would take me days to learn a step and I always felt I’d never get it right. The intensity that my character has during the fight sequences had to be doubled for the dance sequences, because whatever he does, he does straight from the heart.” He added.

But rather than Salman, its producer Boney who has his hopes pinned with the film, “Salman’s personality, attitude and style reflects in his character and no one could play the role better than him. He lights the screen with his dominating presence and will leave the audience in awe. I know for sure that the film will do wonders for the masses and will provide them with a film with all their favourite elements, action, romance and dance.” He says.

Salman is indeed the next most Wanted star in Bollywood!

SALMAN KHAN WEIGHS HIS OPTIONS

Salman Khan was weighed against silver biscuits at the launch of a group of gold coins under the umbrella of his helpful organisation Being Human.

His brothers Arbaaz and Sohail and sisters Alvira and Arpita were present at the launch.

OOPS! SALMAN FALLS ASLEEP AT EVENT

Salman Khan has been continuously promoting his approaching film Wanted for the last few weeks. It's not amazing if the constant events and functions start taking a toll on the actor who has refused to advertise any of his films till date. We caught Sallu in a cute candid moment at a recent event where the Wanted contest winners were announced. Take a look!

SRIDEVI TO APPEAR ON ’10 KA DUM’

She’ll be promoting husband Boney Kapoor’s film ‘Wanted’.

Bollywood actress Sridevi will be seen in an unusual appearance on Sony TV's game show "10 Ka Dum 2" hosted by Salman Khan. Her producer husband Boney Kapoor will also be there.

Sridevi, who has been on a prolonged vacation from the arc lights, went on the show especially to promote her husband's forthcoming film "Wanted". Releasing on Sept 18, the film stars Salman as the hero.

Sridevi, last seen in the 1999 Malayalam movie "Devaraagam", also made an omission for the sake of Salman with whom she featured in a number of projects including "Chandramukhi" and "Chand Ka Tukda". The last Hindi film she acted in was 1997 release "Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha".

Boney and Sridevi will be joined by the film's lead actress Ayesha Takia and director Prabhudheva.

"Now we can all shamelessly promote our film 'Wanted'," said Salman.

The episode will be aired on Saturday (Sept 19) at 9 p.m.

SALMAN KHAN NOW LAUNCHES BEING HUMAN GOLD COINS

Salman Khan will launch a new collection of gold coins today under the umbrella of his charitable organisation - Being Human.

The actor, who in the past has launched his collection of Being Human watches, has determined to now add gold coins to his name. The idea will be a joint alliance between Being Human and Gitanjali.

A source reveals, "Salman was open to the idea of collaborating with the jewellery house. In fact, he even looked at the imaginative of the gold coins and approved them before they were finalised. He was quite amazed with the response his brand of watches evoked from friends and family. So when it came to gold coins, he knew it was a way to extend the franchise."

The coins will be part of the Being Human foundation and proceedings from the sale will go to the trust. A source adds that Salman is also planning to further extend his brand. "Being Human started with clothes and then watches. Now he's added gold coins and in the future, plans to incorporate more ideas to raise funds."

SALMAN AND VIVEK UPSET ASH

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has moved on in life. She speculates why Salman and Vivek cannot!

Aishwarya has never spoken a word on her by now well-known affairs with Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi. She has maintained a stately silence on her personal life. Her former boyfriends have left no stone unturned to make digs at her.

Recently, on a talk show, Vivek used phrases like ‘Rai’ (which also means opinion) and ‘plastic heart and plastic smiles’. He was obviously referring to Ash who has been called ‘plastic’ in the past. Salman has also spoken about her in press interviews and on shows.

A source said, ‘All this has upset Ash, who hasn’t said a word on them and she wishes they would keep quiet about the whole thing too. It makes one wonder if the two don’t have anything happening in their own lives that they have to cash in on their former relationship with her. Why can’t they get a life and behave like gentlemen?’

He further adds, ‘Vivek said that he held the press conference to impress Ash but she wasn’t even aware of it. She was upset when she found out. If Vivek’s career has failed, why should he blame Ash? He was the one who went around town declaring his love for Ash. She didn’t say a word about him. Due to her relationships with Vivek and Salman and subsequent fall-out, she lost a lot of movies and it also harmed her reputation.’

‘When Salman was asked by his friend as to why he still talks about Ash, he casually replied that it was because the press continues to ask him about her. There are a lot of things that Salman doesn’t want to talk about and he makes no bones about it by reprimanding the press. So why doesn’t he keep quiet about Ash?’ wonders the source.

Aishwarya tries to keep away from all this. She is concentrating really hard on her challenging roles in Raavana and Guzaarish. All this distracts her and her families don’t like it either. Apparently, she was so upset with the stories that she almost cried on the sets of Guzaarish in Goa. She said that she has moved on and is living her life the way she wants and is very happy. She wished other people would lead their lives and leave her alone.

A StarBoxOffice source in Goa, close to the Guzaarish unit has established how all this has affected Ash, who has become a nerve wreck every time someone mentions the word Salman or Vivek. She does not want to open her mouth because Bhansali is very close to Salman and things could get ugly. However, she can take respite in the fact that Bhansali hates Vivek as much as she does.

SALMAN BACK WITH ACTION FILM AFTER 5 YEARS

‘Wanted’ also marks his return as a singer.

Known for his macho image, Salman Khan is back with a full-on actioner with "Wanted - Dead or Alive" releasing on Friday (Sept 18). The actor assures "mind-blowing" fight sequences in the thriller directed by ace choreographer Prabhudheva.

"There is a lot of action in the film and it is going to be mind-blowing. Mind you, it has all been done by me and not by a body double," Salman had said about "Wanted".

"We haven't even used the natural cable work that much; so it's been very difficult and I even pulled a hamstring during one of the running sequences that took three months to heal. But it has all been worth the effort," the 43-year-old actor said.

The film about gang wars and crime in the city is Salman's return to an all-out action flick five years after his "Garv - Pride And Honor".

Distributed by Sahara One Motion Pictures and Surinder Kapoor, "Wanted" has been produced by Boney Kapoor. It is the Bollywood debut-directorial venture of choreographer Prabhudheva, who had made the film in Tamil earlier.

"'Wanted' has a good mix of romance, comedy, music, songs and, obviously, action. The film caters to all kinds of audiences but I won't call it a commercial potboiler. It is much more than that," Kapoor said.

The producer has called the movie his "most ambitious film" till date. Prabhudheva too is anxious about his Bollywood entry as a filmmaker.

"I'm nervous, I'm opening my account in Mumbai with this one and I'm quite anxious about the film's fate. I'll only breathe easy after it has been declared a success," he has said.

Also starring Ayesha Takia Azmi in the lead, "Wanted" is a remake of the 2006 Telugu film "Pokiri", directed by Puri Jagannadh. It was later remade in Tamil with the same name by Prabhudheva.

The film also stars Mahesh Manjrekar, Asseem Merchant, Mahek Chhal and Prakash Raj along with Anil Kapoor in a special appearance.

"Wanted" is the story about Radhe (Salman), an arrogant hitman who works for Gani Bhai, the dreaded mafioso, on his own terms. Fearless in nature, Radhe single-handedly eliminates Gani Bhai's enemies, making more enemies in the process.

A story about gang wars, where everybody wants the biggest piece of Mumbai by eliminating whoever gets in the way, it takes a turn when police commissioner Ashraf Khan vows to make the city crime-free and starts his campaign by arresting 200 criminals in a single day.

In a surprising twist, Radhe becomes the most wanted man in the list. The gangster wants him dead because he knows too much and he is wanted alive by the police because they want to know what he knows.

Apart from action, the film also marks Salman's return as a singer after a decade. He has sung the "Most Wanted Track" for the thriller. He last crooned a 'tapori' hit "Chandi ki daal par" in "Hello Brother" in 1999.

Industry insiders are pinning their hopes on "Wanted" to break the dry spell at the box office due to average footfalls courtesy gap-fillers and Ramzan.

CHEERS AND WHISTLES FOR SALMAN ON RAMP

Superstar turns on the heat at men's fashion week. Love him or hate him, you simply can't ignore him. Bollywood actor Salman Khan wooed women with his charming smile as he strode the ramp at the finale of the Van Heusen India Mens Week (VHIMW) in New Delhi on Sunday (Sept 13) night.

Looking convinced, the actor walked with poise when designers Ashish Soni, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna of label Cue showcased their collection. All through his walk, the actor kept looking at the spectators who were waving, whistling and yelling to get his attention.

"Wow!" exclaimed a female fan when the actor walked in Soni's black suit.

Sitting in the front row, another young girl kept one hand on her heart and one on her mouth as she couldn't believe that her favourite actor was just a few inches away from her.

"I just can't believe it. I am his biggest fan and trust me I am still shaking because the feeling of having him just a few inches away from me is giving me goose bumps," confessed Ishita Arora.

"There was a point when I thought that I would hug him on the ramp. I am sure no one would have stopped me. But I couldn't muster up enough courage," she added.

As the designers and the actor were taking a final bow on the ramp, Salman took off his coat filling the hall with cheers and whistles. But it was not just women, men too had joined them. Salman appeared to be loving the attention.

There were some men in the audience who were envious of the actor because of his well-maintained body.

"He is so fit. How does he manage that? Look at him. Does he look like he is forty something," asked Vikram Nagpal, a model.

It was not just the magic of Khan but the designers at the finale too left a lasting impression in the audience's mind.

While Soni's "On the Run" collection comprised of flawlessly cut tuxedos, cotton shirts, jackets and pants for a leaner sexier look, Rahul and Rohit's collection "Hypernature" had pants with dropped crotches, small collars with thin ties and denim suits in forest green, apple red, mist blues and evergreen-black.

Also present at the finale were actress Mugdha Godse and director Madhur Bhandarkar.

REVEL, DON'T REVEAL

Everyone knows that Salman Khan likes his girls to dress humbly read no revealing clothes. So when his heroines arrive on the sets of his show 10 Ka Dum in sexy dresses, he ribs them.

Says a source present on the sets, "Rani had each one gasping when she walked in dressed in her little black number.

Salman cruelly suggested some dance moves for her which he knew would be not viable to do in that micro mini."

He'd pulled the same trick on Shilpa and Kareena too. The only person spared was girlfriend Katrina Kaif maybe because she knows him and came dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans.

NATIONALISM IS MY RELIGION, SAYS SALMAN KHAN

He urges everyone to unite. Bollywood actor Salman Khan showed his nationalistic side on Wednesday when he confident Delhiites to join and work towards the betterment of the country.

"I am an Indian. Nationalism is my religion. We want conscientious citizens who think about India first," said Salman while addressing a meeting at Vijay Chowk at an event organised by Zee News as part of their India First campaign.

"We must come together and do everything for the betterment of our country," added the actor who has three releases lined up. He will be first seen in "Wanted", followed by "Main Aur Mrs. Khanna" and "London Dreams".

India First campaign has also acquired support from noted celebrities like Baichung Bhutia, Priyanka Chopra, Shahid Kapur, Suniel Shetty and many more in the past.

SALMAN KHAN VS SHAHID KAPOOR

This year Bollywood has just woken up to hits such as New York, Kaminey, Love Aaj Kal when the downside of which is that a flurry of unheard films are bombarding theatres.

Irrelevant and insignificant films such asYeh Mera India, Chal Chalein, Shadow, Chintu Ji, Three, Baarbarr, Bachelor Party, Fox, Love Khichdi, Toss, Aamras, Ruslaan, Sikander, Vaada Raha, Mohan Das- which of these films have you been highly anticipating to watch?

We think none! Why? Because Dil Bole Hadippa and Wanted the two most talked about films are releasing on September 18, and this clash is certainly going to cost someone good as Salman has not had a hit in over a year and Shahid just delivered a power-house performance in Kaminey. Distributors, instead of being wary, are quite up for the clash as hope to make twice the moolah if both the films hit jackpot. Wanted is releasing in the month of Ramzan, and it will be a good time to offer the film as a welcome break for Muslims, who tend to come in droves for a Salman film. On the other hand, those who are not looking for all that action his film offers can rely on the sweet charms of Rani and Shahid in Dil Bole Hadippa.

A source from one of the local multiplex confirmed, "Most films that have been releasing in the last 2-3 weeks are average to non-starters which do not bring foot-falls, and we are looking forward to Septemeber 18, which is not very far, and which will be a big day for cinemas as two very big releases, one a prestigious production house, and the other a Khan starrer are touted in bring in big crowds.

At the time of its release Dil Bole Hadippa and Wanted will be close to Eid and Navratras and the festive audience is likely to use the time to catch up on quality stuff, add the source.

What is to be seen is whether the hit formula of clashing stars will stay on. Didn’t Sunny Deol’s Gadar and Aamir Khan’s Lagaan release on the same day and do commercial and critically well? With Salman and Shahid patching up in real life, hope this reel clash does not get them going at each others lungs again. Remember Om Shanti Om and Saawariya?

SALMAN IN NO MOOD TO FORGIVE PRIYANKA

Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra had fallout after their on screen appearance in the 2004 movie “Mujhse Shaadi Karogi”.

While Priyanka has let bygones be bygones, Salman still holds a complaint against her and is in no feel to forgive and forget.

Post their fallout Priyanka tried hard to make peace with Salman on a couple of events. But the resolute Khan has refused to patch up and has preserved his distance from her.

Lately a big producer approached Priyanka with a script. Priyanka liked it and asked about her co-star in the movie. The producer told her that he was in view of Salman for the role. She approved to do the film if Salman was ready to work with her.

When the producer approached Salman he refused to do the film if Priyanka was in the lead. He obviously told the producer that even though he was happy with the script, he wasn’t happy with the casting of the movie.

SRIDEVI LOVES SALADS

Have you seen Sridevi lately? She’s looking fantabulous. Slim, svelte... almost ravishing.

But what does she eat? Salads, salads and more salads. We saw the actress recently at a birthday party strut her plate with salads and almost no other food. Not only does the diva eat well, she also makes her daughters Jahnvi and Khushi eat healthy, too. So when she was filling their food plates, she had a vigorous mix of salads plus a few goodies to make the girls happy. What about her husband Boney Kapoor? Well, Sri tries her level best to make Boney eat healthy as well. She has cut down on his chocolate eating totally, and she has also asked him to give up his love for green chillies. Of course, she still can’t get Boney to live on salads and sprouts only, but at least she is instilling healthy eating habits in Boney, who is a typical Punjabi with a fondness for good food.

I DON'T LIKE JOHN TOO MUCH: SALMAN KHAN

Salman Khan tells Abhijit Majumder he will bid for one of the two new teams and speaks about the whole thing from SRK to Islam.

YOU are there, imperceptibly pinned to the wall by fear as the huge, bear-like Saint Bernard casually amble up to you.

"Don't panic, take your fears head on, run into them," advises a grinning Salman Khan, wearing just his blue gym shorts. "Come, let me bring in you to Saint. He's a safe baby."

For the next hour or so, you have him talking about new films, SRK, Katrina, Islam, close to everything.

He confirmed in this interview at his Bandra Bandstand house on Friday afternoon that he certainly wants to buy an IPL team.

So this is Salman unplugged (just kidding... anybody who has spent some time with him knows an entirely unplugged Salman is too candid, raw and politically shocking even for our pages).

SALMAN IS NOT BUYING ANY IPL TEAM, SAYS BROTHER SOHAIL

There was a buzz yesterday that Salman Khan is setting up to buy an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team, like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty.

Salman met IPL commissioner Lalit Modi yesterday at a suburban Mumbai hotel, after which he told the media that the actor had shown interest in buying an IPL team, "He has been concerned in buying a team for quite some time.

Today, we had a brief meeting and I explained how to go about with the task. I can assure you that Salman is not the only star who is idea of buying a team. I have had around 28 queries and the list will surely go up," he said. Modi also admitted that having a film star added to the glitter of the event. "It does add to the spark," he said.

According to Modi, the price tag fond of to a new IPL team would be in the region of $200 - 300 million. Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra shelled out almost $15 million for a 12 per cent stake in Rajasthan Royals.

However a source close to Salman says, "He bumped into Lalit Modi at a hotel in Bandra and started chatting with him. It was an informal debate. Salman asked him how he was, what's happening with the IPL and some other details but that was it.

This talk of Salman buying an IPL team has been going on forever. It's just that celebrities bring certain glamour to IPL and people want stars to be associated with them - like Akshay Kumar was the brand ambassador of the Delhi Daredevils. Similarly, many want Salman to be the brand ambassador of their teams."

Salman's brother Sohail Khan says, "It's not true. Salman is not buying any IPL team. Yesterday when he was shooting for Dus Ka Dum I called up bhai and asked him whether it was true and he denied it."

SALMAN TO BUY AN IPL TEAM

Bollywood action hero Salman Khan is the latest cine star to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) gravy train and has spoken interest in buying a team.

Salman met IPL chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi here Tuesday and was briefed about the nitty-grittes of buying an IPL franchise.

The fourth season of the IPL in 2011 will see two new teams and they would be up for grabs through a bidding process later this year.

Modi said Salman is attracted in buying an IPL team.

"He has been interested to buy a team for quite some time," Modi added.

"Today we had a brief meeting and I explained him how to go about with the task. I can assure you that Salman is not the only star who is thinking to buy a team. I have had around 28 queries and the list will surely go up," he said.

IPL vice-president Niranjan Shah told IANS that Salman is a staid buyer and will bid for one of the two new teams.

"Salman is a serious buyer and is considering buying an IPL team. He came along with couple of his friends and was briefed by Lalit on the procedure to buy IPL franchise," said Shah.

Shah went on to add that cities like Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Vishakhaptanam are in battle to be the hometown for new teams.

"It will be an open tender process and the city that gets the highest bidder will be the new IPL team," he said.

Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla are the co-owners of Kolkata Knight Riders while Preity Zinta is also a joint owner of Kings XI Punjab. Shilpa Shetty and her boyfriend Raj Kundra also bought some stakes in Rajasthan Royals.

SRIDEVI IS BACK

After a lambi Judaai also her last film with Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar way back in 1997, Sridevi will now be seen on the big screen again.

Sridevi will play Hansika Motwani’s mother in the forthcoming South film “Maappilai”. The film stars Dhanush in the male lead, he is the son in law of superstar Rajinikanth and is also known as the Tollywood remake king. Sridevi decided to do the film as it is a remake of Rajnikanth’s film of the same title.

Soruces say, “The original film had a rich and conceited mother-in-law who is reviled throughout the film but director Suraaj had deleted those parts for his film as he doesn’t want to imitate Sridevi in a bad light for her comeback.”

There was also news that Shekhar Kapur who has penned the sequel to the blockbuster Mr. India has been realistic Sridevi to return to the sequel. Even husband Boney Kapoor had been working on Sri’s comeback and for now it seems like Sridevi is happy to be getting back to her roots.

You will be missed back here in B-town Sridevi.

Maappilai starts rolling by the end of October and will hit the screens by April 14, 2010.

SALMAN: DR SHAH RUKH? HA, HA!

Forgetting and forgiving someone is somewhat that doesn’t come easily to Sallu.

With his list of enemies growing by the day – Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, Shahid Kapoor...Sallu never leaves a chance to make sarcastic remarks at them.

Recently, while flipping pages of a famous fortnightly he came across a picture of SRK posing with his doctorate degree, and Salman promptly remarked, “Arre iss doctor ke paas patients ko bhejo aur ilaaj karao na,” (Send all the patients to Dr Shah Rukh Khan and get them treated).

Everyone saw it on ‘Dus Ka Dum’ how he got back at Shahid Kapoor who had tried to exhibit his dancing skills (Shiamak Davar style) and teach Sallu (known for his original dancing skills) a step or two during a rock concert about three years back. While matching steps with Karisma and Kareena on his show, and after performing on one of Shahid’s famous numbers, he grinned, “Don’t you think I dance better than Shahid?”

Perhaps it is with people like Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff that he gels more. They are of his kind, absolutely modest – another quality that he likes in people. And hence there was a lot of firework when these two seniors of his appeared on ‘Dus Ka Dum’ recently.

“The younger generation should learn from these ‘cool’ guys who are not pretentious. They are frank and openly talk about the mistakes they made in the past. They don't fake when they say, ‘this was our life – this is what we used to do - drugs, alcohol, women, today we have left all that and learnt from our mistakes and experiences. “I have a lot of respect for these guys,” said Salman.

I'LL MARRY FOR KIDS: SALMAN

Bollywood’s superbrat Salman Khan has smoothed down...he talks to Seema Sinha of bones that throbbing the morning after an action sequence, love and marriage.

Bollywood’s bad boy, known for his ability for walking into trouble, Salman Khan appears to be peacemaker, serene and more and more idealistic.

Sample this statement from the hunk, “I believe in making my own luck. Your future depends on what you are at this point. If you mess up this present instant then you are affecting your future too, but if you are on the right track then it routinely lifts your future, it is like taking your destiny up.”

The original Bollywood hunk shies away from admitting he’s turning truth-seeking, “No, no, I have always been like this. It is very simple — Yes, No, Right, Wrong, Good, Bad, White, Black. That is the philosophy of my life.”

He confesses, however, “Well, you can say I have mellowed over the years, maybe because I have learnt to handle certain things. But there could be things that I won’t be able to handle. It happens from time to time. At times, I don’t react even when I know what people are doing to me is wrong or they are taking advantage of me.” He adds a warning, though, “If things go out of hand, I will come back to what I used to be.”

He enjoys being irregular. “Ten years, 20 years from now... I don’t look that much ahead, I see myself playing football in the next 10 minutes but I’m not too sure. I might just change my mind. I don’t plan anything in life,” he says.

A complete home bird when not shooting, Salman paints, listens to music, works out and spends time with his family. “My only fear in life is losing my family members and close friends.” Known for his kindness, good-hearted Salman dreams of a perfect world. “I have lots of dreams... that nobody should die of hunger, poverty, diseases and everyone should have enough money to save their lives. Torturing and defacement children to beg should stop and education should be every child’s right. All religions that preach or teach wrong things should stop,” he says.

His paintings mostly follow a theme of communal harmony, and he paints a lot of human faces. He enjoys retro music —Hindi and Western tracks — and can often are heard whining old numbers.

On his food preferences, Salman remarks, “These days I prefer vegetarian food for some odd reason. But I like chicken, no mutton right now, rice and roti is also out. I don’t like very spicy food, I prefer it bland. I like only home food.”

After giving a few duds in the last few years, Salman is now turning a new leaf. Never to give up or look back and regret, Salman decided to resurrect his career with what he calls ‘difficult’ films. So the macho hunk decided to take up action subjects showcasing dare-devilry — Wanted Dead or Alive and Veer; Vipul Shah’s performance-oriented, Bollywood musical, London Dreams with Ajay Devgan, and a love story of a married couple — Main aur Mrs Khanna with Kareena Kapoor, all three scheduled to release this year.

“I was losing interest and getting tired as I was doing the same thing over and over again. Nothing much was happening in my career and I wanted to do something that would bring back the enthusiasm in me. Now by doing different genre of films makes me feel interested, look special, feel special and makes me work harder.” Salman explains animatedly.

“For the last five to six years, I have seriously trained for Veer and Wanted. It wasn’t just about building six packs or having the body of a ‘model’, which is easy. I had to look tough and strong and like I can take on the world,” says the actor. But, with advancing age, action-oriented roles are known to play havoc on the bodies of most superstars. “These action sequences are scary as you tend to get hurt all the time. Earlier, when I was younger I would never care even if I broke my bones, I never felt the pain. Haddi toot gayi toh toot gayi chalo... it didn’t matter, but now it pains. Worse is that it pains when I wake up in the morning,” he laughs softly.

Gossip rags have always worked overtime fishing out juicy tidbits from his personal life. Few months back a Mumbai tabloid went to town about an alleged clandestine relationship between his lady-love Katrina Kaif and eternal foe John Abraham. But Salman, whom you would see getting furious at a question like this few years ago, now mockingly responds laughing non-stop, “How sweet... oh my god, I am so insecure!”

On women, Salman has always said that he likes them simple and uncomplicated and covered from top to toe, maybe in a sari. His favourite line on this is, “Upar se thoda aur upar, neeche se thoda aur neeche.”

Salman has also said that it is Katrina’s simplicity that keeps him tied to her. “I love simple girls. Nice, simple, straight. I don’t like women who manipulate and scheme.”

But what surprises Salman is that the speculations about his marriage don’t seem to die, which leaves the actor wondering, “Aren’t you guys fed up of asking about my marriage? It is now become a part of any conversation with me. It is like asking, How are you today?” But does he consider marriage to be an important institution? “Each to his own ya. It all depends upon the way one wants to live his or her life.

This new philosophical attitude towards life helps him rationalise things and put in perspective the eternal question of marriage that keeps popping up in front of him time and again. “If you ask my personal opinion, of course, I consider marriage important. There are different reasons and ways one would get married. It could be for love, romance or it could be for children. I would want to marry for children.”

The forever candid Salman Khan self-admittedly might have lost interest in some of his recent films but he hasn’t lost his sense of humour for sure. While turning the pages of a popular fortnightly, he stops at the story on his arch rival and friend-turned-foe, Shah Rukh Khan, who was recently bestowed with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture. “Arre iss doctor ke paas patients ko bhejo aur ilaaj karao,” (Send the patients to Dr Shah Rukh Khan and get them treated),” he smirks.

In the era of stars who take off for vipassana, yoga or meditation in between their hectic schedules, Salman has a unique way of relaxing. “At times when people are talking to me I go blank. That’s my way of relaxing and meditating. I am not even there. Suddenly, people find me spaced out. That relaxation is enough for me,“ he says. At this point of time I decide to stop my interview and leave. Salman is not with me, he is not listening. He has gone blank. Guess he is meditating!

WANTED MORE VIOLENT THAN GHAJINI: SALMAN

Said Salman Khan on whether or not Wanted would be the next Ghajini.

The actor has high hopes for his next film directed by ace choreographer and south actor Prabhu Deva. “Ghajini became a fact because of Aamir Khan, his newly obtained 6 pack and the main focus at the end of the day was the love story. Wanted on the other hand is hardcore action, violence and amazing dance numbers” said Salman when quizzed whether Wanted would have the same box office success as Ghajini.

Salman Khan at his happy best poked fun at his dancing and the type of careful action scenes he went through for the film, saying, “I remember when Prabhu would teach me a step and I’d wonder, that can’t be so bad, but after watching myself on the video assist, I wish I’d retire then and there. I was going through a weary phase before Wanted and I couldn’t have been any more energised now.”

Out of the 200 days of shooting, Salman shot 8-10 action sequences for 150 days. Producer Boney Kapoor said, “The action in the film is incredible and you will be blown away by the type of series we have shot. There are no special effects and Salman has done all his action scenes himself.” The coy Prabhu Deva was all praises for his leading star, saying, “I don’t know anybody else who could have done the film other than Salman Bhai himself.”