Dubai: There’s a reason Bollywood actor Salman Khan is the star he is today. And if his appearance at the world premiere of his new movie Ready is anything to go by, there’s more superstardom ahead for this charmer.
Despite his later-than-late entrance at the Grand Hyatt on Wednesday afternoon, Khan didn’t seem concerned to have left his fans, sponsors and press waiting for nearly two hours. Entering the hall, his 5-foot 8-inch frame immediately commanded everyone’s presence. Surrounded by bodyguards, paparazzi and hysterical fans, the superstar made his way to the mic, commanding all the attention a superstar deserves.
“Thank you very much for coming,” he said, amidst hoots, hysterics and applause. Gone was the often-squeaky, sometimes high-pitched voice from his on-screen appearances. The Khan that held the audience captive had a serene presence around him.
In an accent far removed from his Indian roots, Khan spoke slowly, precisely, clearly, with a poker-face dry humour underlying his sentences. He pulled every trick in the book to make the already hysterical mob of fans even more hysterically obsessed with his every word. Barely had the actor finished an answer when he was interrupted by a journalist, DJ or fan with the next question. Those who couldn’t get to the mic quick enough shouted out their questions at the first given pause in conversation.?
Women asked him to dance, another asked him to marry her, one wanted to see him thrust his pelvis in his famous dance moves… Yes, the requests came in fast and furious. And with gentlemanly charm and poise, Khan answered each one, never breaking eye contact, never mincing words, throwing in a joke when charm alone wouldn’t carry him through.
Wearing dark jeans and a light blue shirt, Khan was buffed and beefed up. He played the crowd like a pro, charming them off their feet with each word spoken, formulating answers for even the most impossible questions thrown his way. When a fan in a Being Human T-shirt (Khan’s charity project) asked the actor to marry her, he didn’t miss a beat. A long lazy smile later, he nodded, ever so slightly, reassuring her with a “sure, sweetheart.”
When another fan begged him to dance the step in his latest hit song Dhinka Chika, in which he thrusts his hips with hands stuck in his pocket, he seemed unfazed. “Why do you want to see me do the step with my hands in my pocket?” he asked with a playful glint in his eye. “I would, but my pants are too tight for that.”
Yes, Khan is still the class clown, a title he seemingly enjoys. Just about any subject is fair game for a joke. When asked by an adoring fan as to when he would finally marry, he didn’t blink an eye or crack the tiniest hint of a smile when he said, “Even I won’t know when my own marriage occurs. I’ll just wake up in the morning and ask what the heck happened. You, however, may get to find out before me.”And that’s Salman Khan for you. An actor who has a country full of fans hanging on to his every word. That’s the Salman Khan XPRESS encountered on Wednesday. The superstar to whom time doesn’t matter. Be it one, two or five hours late, his presence will always command an audience.