Life is stranger than fiction, it seems. Salman Khan played a bodyguard in a 2011 film of the same name. He was assigned the job of defending Kareena Kapoor’s life in the film, who is a target, courtesy political disagreements. Khan braves bullets and swords to save her. In real-life now, he has become a target himself. The morning of April 14 opened with mortal danger for the actor. Mounted on a bike, two individuals fired some bullets on the walls of his residence, Galaxy Apartments, in Mumbai, before escaping. The attack is believed to have been spearheaded by the members of the dreaded Lawrence Bishnoi gang that is supposedly seeking revenge for what the actor did in 1998.
It all began during the shoot of Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Saath-Saath Hai where Khan was accused of killing two blackbucks in the Kankani village of Rajasthan. The animal is held in great reverence by the Bishnois, a community in the state which protects and preserves the environment. For them, it is the reincarnation of their god, and hence, the poaching by Khan was held in highest disregard. So much so that during a court appearance in 2018, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi had proclaimed, “We will kill Salman Khan in Jodhpur. Everyone will know once we take action.” Naturally, this came as a matter of great fright and panic.
The threat was reiterated in the form of a letter in June 2022 in the aftermath of the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. The letter brazenly stated, “Tera bhi Moosewala kar denge (You will meet the same fate as Moosewala)”. In 2023, yet another threat found its way through an e-mail which was received by the actor’s manager. All of this is happening to an actor, whose onscreen persona is that of a macho-man chasing away bad-guys with the pump of his muscles and the power of his arms.
The actor’s might was last seen in Maneesh Sharma’s Tiger 3, where he returned to play the much-loved titular character, jumping off buildings and emerging victorious in gunfights or hand combats. There, he was racing against time to save his country with the help of Zoya, played by Katrina Kaif, as they scampered to stop the menacing plans of Aatish Rehman, the antagonist played by Emraan Hashmi. The film fared well at the box-office and finally gave him some relief after back-to-back duds. He also starred in the action-comedy, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, where he combined his real-life persona and on-screen energy with his character, ‘Bhaijaan’, who is the quintessential saviour.
Some years ago, in the 2010s, it was Khan who pioneered the emergence of new-age hyper-masculine films in Hindi cinema, punctuated by over-the-top action scenes, raunchy dialogues and catchy songs. It was a major shift in his filmography which was, until then, filled with romantic-dramas and comedies. The decisive turn happened with Prabhudeva’s Wanted (2008), where Salman played the role of Radhe, an IPS officer who is after a deadly gang. “Ek baar jo maine commitment kardi to mai khud ki bhi nahi sunta (Once I make a commitment, then I listen, not even to myself)”, became the fiery punchline that marked his next innings.
Much like the courageous characters he plays, the actor’s spirits remain not shaken as he left for Dubai on Friday for the launch of his fitness equipment brand, ‘Being Strong’. His father, screenwriter Salim Khan, responding to the shooting later said, “They (the shooters) just want publicity; there is no need to worry.” The actor will be next seen in AR Murugadoss’s Sikandar. As the title suggests, all of the country will be hoping he emerges from these gloomy times, a warrior, unafraid and unaffected.
