Salman Khan And The Hundred

Crore League
Often do I encounter a very common form of hollow criticism coming from film
fanatics I hang around with, hollow because the answer to it somehow lingers within
the sub conscious mind of ours. The criticism revolves around the fact that why do
the Indian movies seem to lack the charisma, rationale and elemental perfection
that is possessed by the cinematic reflections of the west? Why does it seem that
the Indian filmmakers directors, scriptwriters and actors consign to oblivion when
it comes to creating a piece of art that is infused with logical matter and a fortitude
of conceiving a notion that shimmers with brilliance?
The answer is the adulteration of our cinema with the burgeoning plague termed as
commercialization. The germ of commercialization has indoctrinated the masses
of the vision - the presence of which is mandatory to both create as well as witness
an enlightened form of cinema. The country in which the eminently notable film
award ceremonies preposterously boast of different array of awards, one for the
critically acclaimed the truly commendable ones whose films deliquesced in the
hallowed darkness of the theatres for only a week or two, enabling them to reap off
a meager profit through their backbreaking labor ; and the other for the
commercially lucrative the films that we pay for to watch in the theatres,
sanctioning them to earn three times of their budget in the very first week itself yet
silently castigating nearly all the major aspects of the noted cinematic work only to
rush to the theatre, the very next weekend to witness a similar work, entrancingly
repeating our mistake only to regret again- do I need to say more?
People often get perplexed failing to differentiate between an actor and an
entertainer. An actor relies solely on the soul of the character that a good script
defines, absorbing the attributes of it, approving the character to dominate and
influence his/her notions and actions when in front of the camera regardless of the
fact how the audience will perceive that performance. Whereas, an entertainer is a
person who is devoid of an originally authentic vision, an ambiguous puppet swayed
by the eccentric expectations of the populous, a clown whose face is smeared with
the unwanted colors of redundant performances and superfluous characters.
Salman Khan is one such entertainer.
Considered to be one of the avant-garde of the hundred crore league of Bollywood,
Salman Khans five films have listed themselves in the hundred crore league. As if in
a theatre of absurd, its sarcastically ludicrous that Mr. Khan - who appears to be
barren of ample of acting flair, who has been loitering through the course of his
career with carbon appearance in every film as if its not he is playing some
character thats penned down for him, rather its more like Salman Khan playing

Salman Khan, who executes the minimal expressions his facial muscles enable him
to conjure, who improvises his bizarre and abject dance forms catalyzing their
repetition over and over again has a colossal army of devotees who have till yet
made sure that every film of Mr. Khan that has released after 2010, makes its place
in the 100 crore league.
Salman Khans first film to invade the 100 crore league was the 2010 action flick
Dabangg. With Salman Khan playing a orderly cum corrupt policeman Chulbul
Pandey who does not believe in breaking the rules but rather bending them in order
to assuage his needs, the film was noteworthy as an singular uncommon attempt of
its time comprising of rambunctious action sequences, candid dialogues and festive
songs accompanied by breathtaking dance numbers. With the masses bombarding
the theatres in extravagant numbers, the film received a sizzling reception at the
box office and panned up to enormous heights , thus finding its way in the 100 crore
club.
The next two Mr. Khans films that followed were Ready and Bodyguard. Both films
were released in 2011 and abided by the presence of a protagonist whose only facet
consisted of buffeted action and idiosyncratic comic timing that though were
cheered upon in the theatres, made no sense at all. Such cheers, applause and
ovation of the numb and the dumb allowed these two films of Mr. Khan to crawl
their way into the big 100 crore league. Mr. Khan had hit the hat trick.
Backed up by Yash Raj studios, director Kabir Khan tried to breathe some logic in the
next Salman Khan starrer, giving some serious overtones to the character. Being a
big budget project, the film was shot on location in some quite exotic countries.
Accompanying this glamorization was the stereotypical charm of the casting of the
feigning real life couple of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. All the rest was bombs and
bullet shots that somehow killed of any logic (if any) as the film proceeded towards
its interval. However, the name of a big studio, immense star cast and pretentious
masala had already done the substantial harm Kabir Khans Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
was Salman Khans fourth film to enter the 100 crore league.
In 2012 itself, the sequel to Mr. Khans Dabangg, Dabangg 2 released. With Salman
Khan reprising his role of Chulbul Pandey, the cast was not the only aspect that
prevailed as a similarity with the previous installment of the film, but nearly
everything was common the plot, the actions of the characters, the action
sequences, the dances et cetera for a moment one may fool himself/herself into
believing that Dabangg 2 is actually traced on the frame work of its parent versiona variant comprising of the same properties. The fate of Dabangg 2 was predecided. It was destined to enter the 100 crore club, for it was not a singular movie,
it was now a part of a franchise. Not the Dabangg franchise, but the Salman Khan
franchise.

Salman Khans latest release Jai Ho (2014) is on its way to enter the Godly 100
crore league of Bollywood. It surely will be Mr. Khans sixth consecutive film to be
crowned as a 100 crore grosser yet though after presenting it with such a accolade,
we should always remember that the journey of Jai Ho towards the elite club,
lacked of an itinerary. Thus the path it took was full of robust obstacles and acute
puddles of criticism that centered around the ever existent yet lately realized fact
that theres enough evidence to prosecute a Salman Khan starrer for professing
parallel harmony with its predecessors.
The more extensively this realization dawns, the more sooner shall the masses be
able to perceive a new wave of Indian cinema.
The sole objective of my words is not to criticize Salman Khan or the commercial
form of cinema that he patronizes and shall continue to do so. May be, in times to
come, the commercialized form of cinema shall be in vogue to such an extent that it
may even be categorized as a whole new genre along with drama, comedy, noir,
crime et cetera. But my argument is not genre oriented, its not biased. What
Salman Khan is doing at the moment is not uncommon, all the major actors (or as
they say stars), directors and storywriters are doing the same. They are so
intoxicated by this concept of 100 crore club that their exclusive objective has
somewhat diverted from creating exceptional cinema to earning exceptional
amounts of money regardless of whatever they create. From actors such Shah Rukh
Khan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik
Roshan to directors such as Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra and Farhan Akhtar, all are
slave to this commercialized notion of cinema.
Why cant a good, calculated, precisely apt and prudent form of cinema be
commercially successful? Why do high budgeted duds rake in billions? Why dont
people remember Kiran Raos Dhobi Ghat and Anand Gandhis Ship Of Theseus?
Why not invest less and make more out of it? Why not believe that the quality of the
cinema we produce shall result in the quantity of capital that we would end up
earning? Why not go for good cinema for once?
Most importantly, why not annihilate this chasm that exists between critical and
commercial forms of cinema, infusing them as a singular entity that revolutionizes
the form of Indian cinema and the eye that absorbs the moving images from within
the darkness?
Perhaps, one day a logically feasible piece of art shall make its place in the 100
crore league of Bollywood. I wouldnt be complaining if that artistic revolution is
headed by Mr.Khan, I did rather be happy for him. But till then, me, you and
everybody around whom the cinema influences so much, shall wait for somebody
who would influence cinema instead.
Fin.