Come Together: The princesses turn on the charm

 

Malaika takes it up a notch in a stunning white dress!

Bollywood couples who may tie the knot

Reports are that Lara Dutta and tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi are planning a church wedding in Goa next year.

 

Imran Khan and his fiancee Avantika Malik will tie the knot in Thailand in January next year exactly a year after they got engaged. 

Saif's li'l sis Soha Ali Khan is in trouble for illegally owning a gun. The gun licensed in the name of Soha Ali Khan was found amongst the firearms seized from Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's Delhi residence in 2005. 

 

Sophie's gown and accessories are to die for!

Refuting media reports doing rounds since the past few months, Kunal Khemu has admitted that his relationship with Soha is going strong. Right Kunal. now what and when? 

Bollywood's Brush With the Law

The Supreme Court recently upheld the conviction of Bollywood actress Monica Bedi in a passport forgery case, but reduced the sentence to the time already spent in prison. Bedi was caught in Portugal for travelling on a false passport by the name of Sana Malik Kamal. She was sentenced to five years in jail by the trial court in Hyderabad which was reduced to three years by Andhra Pradesh High Court. We take a look at other actors who have had a brush with law 

Sister Power: Malaika and Amrita look like a double treat together!

Sneak a peek

Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan.

Celebrity candid shots

Bodyguard: The ever-protective Salman Khan looks out for Sonakshi Sinha during the premiere show of Dabangg.

Sneak peek inside KJo's coffee hamper

 

We give you a sneak peek at the goodies inside Karan Johar's coveted Koffee hamper. It's oglin' time!

 

The most coveted item on Koffee With Karan is the coffee hamper. The chat show's anchor Karan Johar has his celeb guests battling it out to emerge winner of the basketful of goodies.

 

The rapid-fire round has the host hurtle a volley of questions (sometimes not too comfortable for the guests!).

 

The guest who answers honestly (or hilariously!) wins the hamper. Fence-sitters and diplomatic replies don't fetch any points for the goodies. As KJo states it is a hamper worth fighting for!

 

In this season's hamper

 

~~ A BlackBerry Torch

~~ A Samsung Tab

~~ A box of chocolates from the Grand Hyatt

~~ A box of Lindt Swiss thins

~~ A box of mini cupcakes

~~ Vicenzi's Mini Snack puff pastry rolls filled with hazelnut cream

~~ A maroon Koffee With Karan mug

~~ Gourmet ground coffee

~~ A small bottle of Nescafe Classic

~~ Bailey's Irish Cream

~~ A scented candle

~~ A small bottle of Leonidas chocolate spread

~~ A bottle of Burberry Sport for women

Actor of the Decade

Bollywood, they say, is a man's world: a place where tales are spun to fit the male(ego); where actresses are seldom elevated beyond the status of a glorified set prop.

Here's our list of 10 top B'wood actors of the decade, who impressed the critics with some stunning portrayals.

1999-2000: Sanjay Dutt for 'Vaastav'

The archetypal Prodigal Son, Sanjay Dutt began his Bollywood career with a whimper, in 'Rocky' (1981) and became a Category 5 B.O storm within a space of two decades. His career-graph registered a steady rise during the mid eighties. Tragedy struck in 1993, when Sanjay was arrested in connection with the Mumbai blasts and had to spend 16 months in jail as an undertrial. Sanju lost his stardom for a while but made a telling comeback in 1999-2000 with the Mahesh Manjrekar film, 'Vaastav'.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that 'Vaastav', written and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, redefined the actor in Sanjay Dutt. Known, till then, for his deadpan looks and Dumbo Hunk roles, Sanjay Dutt shrugged every cliché off him to deliver the performance of a lifetime. 'Vaastav' was extremely successful both in India and abroad and has achieved cult status over the years. Sanjay won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and the Award for Artistic Excellence at IIFA 2000.
Sanjay Dutt also starred in 'Munnabhai MBBS' (2004), and 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' (2006), two landmark movies of the decade.
Says Sanjay Dutt: "As an actor, I've grown considerably. It's taken me years to get comfortable doing a romantic scene and dancing on stage in front of a live audience. I've really opened up a lot. I keep the bad-boy image just to make my fans happy. I'm getting some really good work. And because I'm delivering what they want, more good work is coming my way."

2000-2001: Hrithik Roshan for 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hai'

No other actor, except Amitabh Bachchan, has captured the imagination of a nation the way Hrithik had with 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hai'. He became a megastar overnight, and gave jitters to even the King Khan. 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hai' showcased Hrithik's Adonis physique and dancing skills to the hilt that it became extremely tough for him to emulate the feat in the movies that followed. After a terrible landslide at the B.O, which saw him feature in seven consecutive flops, Hrithik emerged victorious with the superhero flick, 'Koi Mil Gaya'. It has been a bed of roses, ever since.
'KNPH' is a classic debut vehicle for any actor under the sun, provided he acts, dances and fights like Hrithik Roshan. Roshan scored in all three departments and took home all the award statuettes of the year.
Hrithik's notable performances of the decade were in 'Dhoom2', 'Koi Mil Gaya', 'Krish' and 'Jodhaa Akbar' (2009).
Says Hrithik: "Do I look like a sex-symbol or a pin-up boy? It's just that my father presented me like a dream. I am going to reach the top. Now there's going to be no looking back."

2001-2002: Aamir Khan for 'Lagaan'

Diminutive but definitive, Aamir Khan brings to the Bollywood screen a will to experiment and a desire to be perfect. After making his debut in 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' (1988), Khan went on to act in a dozen commercial duds before discovering the perfectionist in himself. Post 'Ghulam' (1997) it has been a different Aamir on play. He defied all conventional norms as a producer and decided to make Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Lagaan', a mock period film with a message.
Aamir Khan approaches acting as if he is an 'ambitious' sage on penance. Even the minutest gesticulation is broken up into detailed micro moments and enacted with panache. Such fanatic adherence to theory has helped Khan come out with flying colours in movies such as 'Lagaan', 'Dil Chahta Hai', 'Rang De Basanti', 'Taare Zameen Par', and 'Ghajini'. But it has also ended up in his overworking on the character and leaving absolutely no space for spontaneity, as was evident in the weak portrayal of Mangal Pandey. Aamir's acting is more a dissection than an exploration. The result: He is consistently good and rarely excellent.
In 2000, Aamir also acted in the critically acclaimed 'Dil Chahta Hai'. In this decade, Aamir reinvented himself with every new movie of his. He took a three year break after 'Dil Chahta Hai' and returned with 'Mangal Pandey The Rising' (2005). The film was a dud both critically and commercially. Aamir took revenge by scoring four back-to-back hits with 'Rang De Basanti', 'Fanaa', 'Taare Zameen Par' and 'Ghajini'.
Says Aamir: "I enjoy the love I receive from my fans and my audience. But I think I know what is real for me and what is not. Every film I do means a lot to me. Their failures make a difference to me. I am not comfortable with the idea of my films not releasing to their full potential. You really have to believe in what you're doing and the way you're doing it. And above all, you have to enjoy yourself. That's the way it is with me. I'm not looking for anything in a particular script. When I'm reading a script, I become the audience, and if what I read moves me and excites me and I really love listening to or reading the script, then that is the script I choose to do. It's all instinct."

2002-2003: SRK for 'Devdas'

Shah Rukh, the "King Khan", began his career on TV with two pop serials, 'Fauji' and 'Circus'. He debuted on the big screen with 'Deewana' (1992). Khan has, so far, won 13 Filmfare Awards, seven of which are in the Best Actor category. Khan's films such as 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' (1995), 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' (1998), 'Chak De India' (2007) and 'Om Shanti Om' (2007) feature among Bollywood's biggest hits of all time. In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.
In 'Devdas', Shahrukh did a character that was immortalised earlier by none other than Dilip Kumar. Shahrukh perfectly complemented Sanjay Leela Bhansali's colourful palette and melodrama concentrate with his intense depiction of the lead character. The typical SRK strategy of overindulging in himself paid good dividends here: For once, the narcissism of the actor mixed well with the self loathing of the character. And people instantly forgot the Dilip Kumar portrayal and cozied up to the new one.
SRK's other notable performances of the decade were in 'Veer-Zaara', 'Chak De India' (Kabeer Khan) and 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' (Surinder Sahni/Raj Kapoor).
Says SRK: "I don't sit around complaining about the lack of good roles. I will play Raj 85 times and still make him different. There are only two Khans. Genghis Khan and Shahrukh Khan. I'd die if people didn't recognise me. I would not be able to walk on the road if people didn't mob me. That's what I work for. Sex is not required to sell my film. My name is enough. Awards who ignore me are losers"

2003-2004: Ajay Devgn for 'Gangajal'

One of the first visuals that comes to the mind when we think of Ajay Devgn is the introduction shot in his debut film 'Phool Aur Kaante', wherein he stands akimbo (a cam speed adjustment gimmick, of course) on two bikes (each leg on each bike, that is) and enters a college campus, 60 kmph! The try was to live up to tag of Veeru Devgan's (the famous action choreographer of the 1970s and 80s) son. Post the super success of PAK, Ajay went on to star in action thrillers such as 'Jigar', 'Vijaypath' and 'Diljale'. He won his first national award for 'Zakhm' (1998) and the second one for 'The Legend of Bhagat Singh' (2002). Devgn is now more loyal to what he calls "responsible cinema" than the action flicks that he was famous for at the beginning of his career.

Devgn is known for internalising his characters so much so that they have a unique brooding glow to them. His portrayal of AP Amit Kumar testifies to this. He does not particularly overstress on any of the character traits and underplays the cop to perfection.

Ajay also impressed the critics with his performances in 'The Legend of Bhagat Singh', 'Company' and 'Khakee'.

2004-2005: Amitabh Bachchan for 'Khakee'

Amitabh Bachchan has now become a tale rather than a name: the story of a dark, lanky young man from Allahabad who went on to become the greatest Bollywood superstar of all times. In 2000, AB was chosen as the host for a new TV game show, 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'. The show became an enormous hit. Amitabh was voted as The Actor of the Millennium in a poll conducted by BBC, which featured such names as Lawrence Olivier and Marlon Brando. In the new millennium, Amitabh stunned his detractors with some superb performances in films such as 'Aks', 'Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham', 'Baghban', 'Khakee', 'Black', 'Nishabd', 'Dev', 'Last Lear' and 'Paa'.
Bachchan has played the cop umpteen times on the screen, but DCP Ananth Sreevasthava of 'Khakee' stands out. This was one thoroughly fleshed out character that really demanded Amitabh Bachchan to fulfill itself. Though majority of his fans and critics would rate the 'Black' portrayal as Amitabh's best of the decade, it is the 'Khakee' performance that actually takes the cup. The respectability and authority that Bachchan brings to this patriarchal cop has to be seen to be believed.
This has been one of Amitabh's best decades as an actor; he was seen in characters of various hues, depicting a stunning range of emotions.
Says the Big B: "Frankly I've never really subscribed to these adjectives tagging me as an 'icon', 'superstar', etc. I've always thought of myself as an actor doing his job to the best of his ability. The amount of things I have been through and the remarkable ways in which the body has reacted is just phenomenal. No wonder I became religious, because you don't know why something's happening to you and you don't know how you bounced back."

2005-2006: Abhishek Bachchan for 'Sarkar'

Having started his career with the average grosser, 'Refugee' (2000), Abhishek braved a dozen mega flops before making a mark on the commercial circuit with 'Dhoom' (2004). The Small B is a hot favourite with most of the critics if not the trade pundits. Post-'Dhoom', it has been a smooth ride for Abhi, both in terms of commercial success and critical acclaim.
Abhishek's performance in Ram Gopal Varma's 'Sarkar' is one for the textbook. He plays an obedient and understanding son to Amitabh Bachchan's title character Subhash Nagre (alias Sarkar). Abhishek's calm, composed yet powerful Shankar Nagre is pitted not only opposite Amitabh's Sarkar but also against KK Menon's Vishnu Nagre, the hot-headed and easily manipulated wastrel. Watch Abhishek as he conveys truckloads of thoughts, plans and emotions through small winks and half-smiles , stares and nods...
Says Abhi: "My dad and mom are too great for anyone to even try to be like them. So why should I even try? I'm not a style icon. I have to thank all the people who work from behind the scenes to create that illusion. Critics have a job to do. They do not criticise you without reason."

2006-2007: Saif Ali Khan for 'Omkara'

Saif Ali Khan, when he made his debut in 1992 with 'Parampara', was noticed only for his cascading dark brown hair, the mascara-ed eyelashes and that ear-to-ear grin. After scoring his first major hit in 1994 with 'Main Khiladi Tu Anari', he had to go through several years of decline in the 1990s. 'Dil Chahta Hai' (2001) changed it all. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in 'Hum Tum' (2004). He then had his B.O. moment with 'Salaam Namaste' (2005)and 'Love Aaj Kal' (2009). Saif also starred in critically acclaimed movies such as 'Parineeta' (2005) and 'Omkara' (2006).
In one of the boldest career moves in the history of Bollywood, Saif shed his pin-up hunk look and got into that of a repellant political operator, Eshwar "Langda" Tyagi, for 'Omkara'.

'Omkara' was Bharadwaj's take on Shakespeare's 'Othello' and he had enthusiastically cast Saif as Langda, the Iago of 'Omkara'. Saif yellowed his teeth and faked a limp to play the character. "Evil had rarely looked so cool on screen," said director Vishal Bharadwaj, on Saif's portrayal.

2007-2008: Darsheel Safary for 'Taare Zameen Par'

Darsheel Safary (born March 9, 1996), made his acting debut in 'Taare Zameen Par'. Safary was discovered by TZP's script writer and creative director Amol Gupte during late 2006 when he was looking for a male lead for his film on dyslexic kids.

Safary's performance as a struggling dyslexic child in the film was unanimously praised and he won several awards for his performance. Wrote Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh: "Taare Zameen Par' belongs to Master Darsheel Safary. A performance that makes the best of performances pale in comparison. A performance that deserves brownie points. A performance that'll always come first on your mind the moment someone mentions Taare Zameen Par. A performance that's impeccable, flawless and astounding. A performance that moves you and makes you reflect on your growing years. A performance that merits a special award!"

Says Safary: "I didn't do anything special to play Ishaan. I guess it sort of came naturally since I've been taking elocution classes. We sing, act and say dialogues in that class. Also, I've been attending Shiamak uncle's dance classes."

2008-2009: Naseeruddin Shah for 'A Wednesday'

Having debuted on screen in 1975 with Shyam Benegal's 'Nishaant', Naseer became one of the most important actors of the Indian parallel cinema with movies such as 'Sparsh', 'Mirch Masala', 'Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai', 'Trikal', 'Bhavni Bhavai', 'Junoon', 'Mandi', 'Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!', 'Paar' and 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron'. In this decade, he has been part of many acclaimed movies such as 'Hey Ram', 'Monsoon Wedding', 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', 'Maqbool', 'Krrish', 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na' and 'A Wednesday'.

Shah has been appreciated universally for his clean, clinical portrayals. As "The Common Man/Anonymous Caller" in 'A Wednesday', Naseer behaves and emotes so naturally that you might ask "Where is the actor? Where is the acting?"

Says Shah: "I did not want to be slotted. I have rejected 10 times the number of films I have done. I have played the hero running around trees and a villain and a father."

Kiran Rao - Aamir Khan

Kiran Rao

Short Bio

Unlike all the other individuals mentioned on our list, Kiran Rao's role is more behind the camera than in front of it. She started her career as an assistant director on various television commercials and in the year 2000, she moved into the feature film space as an assistant director for Aamir Khan's Productions' first presentation - 'Lagaan'. Fortuitous? Absolutely! And in more ways than one! Little did she know that not only was she associating herself with what would go on to be an Oscar nominated film, she was also about to meet the love of her life and the man she was going to marry - heartthrob, brilliant actor and superstar Aamir Khan.

In December 2005, Kiran and Aamir got married in a private ceremony in Panchagani in Maharashtra. Six months later, they also celebrated with a reception in Bangalore, from where Kiran's family hails.

Today, the couple enjoys being married to each other, as well as working side by side on in-house productions such as 'Taare Zameen Par' and 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'. Kiran will soon be seen directing Aamir in her first directorial venture, 'Dhobi Ghaat'. Wife telling husband exactly how to behave? Sounds about right!

Aamir Khan

Short Bio

Technically Aamir Khan started his career as a child actor in his uncle's 'Yaadon Ki Baaraat', but it was only when he burst into our lives strumming the guitar and singing "Papa kehte hain" in 1988's 'Qayamat se Qayamat Tak' that the nation developed a collective crush on him.

More than 20 years later, the crush has now solidified into a solid love affair, accented by respect and awe and today Aamir is considered one of the finest actors our cinema has produced.

Early on it was clear that Aamir's romantic streak spread beyond just his films. As a young lad he fell in love with his neighbour Reena Dutta and married her soon after turning 21, much against the wishes of both their families. The marriage produced two children and lasted 16 years, ending in divorce, in 2002. The intensely private Khan refused to divulge any details of his personal life, although that did not stop the media from speculating. These speculations were heightened by the shocking claim that British writer Jessica Hines had produced a love child called Jaan Harry Hines with Aamir in 2003. As always he remained tight lipped about the whole controversy and it gradually died down.

However, the rumour mills were not going to stay silent for long when it came to a handsome and unattached star like Aamir and soon after, reports of his romance with a young assistant director began to surface. This time though, he did more than just confirm the dalliance; he went ahead and got married to his lady love - Kiran Rao - in 2005.

Aamir and Kiran had met on the sets of his magnum opus 'Lagaan' and a little mental math will reveal that Aamir was technically still married to Reena at the time (She was one of the producers of the film actually). Exactly when the affair began and what his marital status was at the time still remains a little murky, but all that is in the past now!

Selected Filmography: Kiran Rao (2000-2009)

2001: 'Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India': Enters the film world as an assistant director to Ashutosh Gowariker, also meets her future husband, the star of the film Aamir Khan. The film goes on to get nominated for an Academy Award.

2001: 'Monsoon Wedding': Plays second assistant director to Mira Nair's lively take on Indian weddings.

2004: 'Swades: We, the People': Teams up again with Ashutosh Gowariker in this tale about an NRI, played by Shahrukh Khan, returning home.

2007: 'Taare Zameen Par': Is the associate producer on Aamir Khan's home production and directorial debut about a dyslexic child.

2008: 'Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na': Delivers another hit as associate producer on Abbas Tyrewala's tale of young love, starring Aamir Khan's nephew Imran Khan and the bubbly Genelia D'Souza.

Famous Duets

Like many other filmy couples, Aamir and Kiran also fell in love while working together. The story-mein-twist though was the fact that Aamir was the mammoth star of the film, while Kiran was just an assistant director.

2001: 'Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India': A momentous film, for many reasons: Aamir Khan's first production, Kiran's first feature film assignment, a nomination for the best foreign film at the Oscars and the beginning of a love story.

2007: 'Taare Zameen Par': Aamir's directorial debut had wife Kiran playing the role of assistant producer.

Love Speak

"My working with Aamir was pretty accidental. I am not from a filmy family. A friend of mine who was working with Aamir's 'Lagaan' asked me if I would like to work as part of the team, and I agreed. Prior to that, I must have watched, like, ten Hindi movies in my life. I didn't know much about Hindi films at all. And one of the films she did know about was 'Rangeela'. QSQT was the first complete Hindi film I ever watched, as a young adult. I must have been about 14 then. I'll never forget that because, it was the first movie I watched on our new VCR." Kiran Rao on her serendipitous association with Lagaan and Aamir.

'So Kiran and I are away from home, in one very quiet spot, just lying in and resting. Reading, going for walks, watching films,' Aamir Khan on his blog, talking about the couple spending some away time shortly after Kiran tragically miscarried their first child.

Rhythm n Blues: Ash is breathtaking in this turquoise stunner

Deepika was on double duty, putting in an appearance at the Hello Magazine Awards as well

Mahesh Bhatt posted this picture of Sanjay Dutt showing off his tattoo with his dad's name. Mr Bhatt posted “The son of Sunil and Nargis Dutt bares his heart! The secular creed is ingrained in his DNA”. 

Blast from the past

Blast from the past: future star Hrithik with biggies Shah Rukh and Salman. Hrithik Tweeted, “Wow, just came across this pic from the sets of Karan Arjun when I was assisting dad as the clapper boy!! An amazing memory!! Enjoy ?” 

Stars share their pics on Twitter

 

Karan Johar is one of the girls at Manish Malhotra's show! Priyanka posted this pic of herself with Urmila, Rani, Preity and Sophie on Twitter.

Amitabh Bachchan with family

Being Salman Khan!

From Photos

The biggest paycheck in Bollywood this year has landed. It reached a star who's 5-foot 9-3/4 inches and weighs 78 kg. He dresses in clothes chosen by his two sisters and lives a floor below his parents. He sleeps for three hours a day and eats five meals daily. He's Salman Khan. And he's made Rs 170 crore and still counting from Dabangg, Rs 24 crore from Bigg Boss 4, and Rs 15 crore from three endorsements signed earlier this year. He is at the top of the entertainment game, measured in the only language Mumbai understands: money.
For someone who started work at 14 and whose first pay was Rs 75 as a background dancer, becoming the star of Bollywood's second biggest hit ever has not been easy. The pinnacle has come 22 years after he began as a doe-eyed, silken-haired 45-kg son of a famous father, a second lead in the tepid Biwi Ho To Aisi. Salman has reason to be pleased though he cannot look you in the eye, mind you.

From Photos

A little accident with a surgery to fix the unflattering pouches under his eyes has ensured that he cannot take off his dark glasses for another week. But as the star sits on his black leather couch, the centrepiece of his one-bedroom flat in Mumbai, with the steaming cup of coffee to be replaced by successive glasses of Bacardi and Coke as the evening wears on, he knows his fans have seen worse. They have seen him wearing a bikini in Baaghi, dancing with a towel between his legs in Mujhse Shaadi Karoge, being a "manly" Marilyn Monroe in Jaan-e-Mann and in Dabangg, romancing a girl who was a year old when he began his career.

From Photos

And they are not surprised that he now commands Rs 5 crore for each of his five endorsements; that he's taken the ratings of the opening episode of Bigg Boss 4 to a high of 4.83, bettered only by Amitabh Bachchan's Kaun Banega Crorepati 4 TRP of 6.21; and that his next yet-to-be-shot film is being sold at Rs 75 crore. The bhai who never grew up seems to have finally become the boy who can do no wrong.
Or even if he does, it is quickly forgiven. Perhaps because he is seen as someone with his heart in the right place and his tongue in the wrong place. As an equal opportunity offender, who, if he is unprofessional, is so with everyone big or small. As a loveable lout who may be feudal and flawed but is still very funny. As a star who is less about the brand and more about the body. Which may explain why while everybody is busy wearing branded clothes, he's happy taking them off.

From Photos

Perhaps it's because the audience watching him suspects that behind the bluster is a boy who can still get slapped by his father, scriptwriter Salim Khan, and still stands to attention when he's on the phone. In many ways, Salman is the retrosexual man every boy would like to be. His brothers are his best friends and despite having dated four stunningly beautiful professional actors, he still believes that women should not "expose" onscreen.
Unlike middle class darlings Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, film scholar Shohini Ghosh believes Salman's films echo our more complicated "good and bad times". Movies like Tere Naam and Garv portray him as a brooding hero while even in his most raucous comedies he often loses the girl or gets trumped by another star. Like the young Amitabh Bachchan, despite his elite upbringing, he has a common touch. He can play the folk hero of the masses as much as he can embody the rock star swagger.

From Photos

From Photos

Salman hasn't worked with too many star directors and he still cannot remember the dialogue of Pyaasa that he and director Sajid Khan had to learn in acting classes with Daisy Irani, but he seems to have found a new commitment to work. Always known more for his body than his brains, he is not only completing movies in one schedule to maintain continuity of physicality and character, but he has also reserved the right of final edit.

From Photos

"When I see a film now, I see it from the point of view of the audience, not myself. Yuvraaj was 25 minutes too long, London Dreams would have been super 35 minutes less, and for Veer, I just needed more shooting dates. It's my fault that I didn't put my foot down. But I didn't whether out of respect or not wanting a misunderstanding. Perhaps they would have been worse if I had put my foot down," he says.

From Photos

It is rare to find a star so unaccustomed to asserting his veto. Perhaps because Salman regards himself as a worker bee, who's broken every bone in his body, save his head, at least three times. He's always worked, whether it was as an assistant to Shashilal Nair for Rs 30 a day or as a model trying to maintain a Rs 300 bank balance. Which is why, among the Khans, he's made the most films-71 compared to 57 for Shah Rukh and 36 for Aamir. Now the madness has a method. Still, don't expect him to come to work before 11 a.m., kiss onscreen ("why mix business with pleasure," he murmurs), or play a villain ("people need to see heroes").

From Photos

From Photos

Also make allowances for the days when he won't want to shoot, or will do so only with dark glasses on, because his eyes are puffy. But then once he's on the set, surrounded by his toys (an all-terrain bike, a bicycle, perhaps his Yamahas R6 and R1, and his four dogs, the oddly named Veer, My Love, Saint and Handsum) expect him to do anything the director demands, from one arm push-ups in his breakout film, Maine Pyaar Kiya, which established him as an all-India star a year after Aamir, to arguing with an invisible sky in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
He sees a reason for the phenomenal success of Wanted last year, which was like Ghajini before it, a southern import, and re-established the action genre in Bollywood which involves heroes walking through doors and fighting battles with bare hands. "We've had the angry young man, the action hero who would fight for his family or neighbourhood, the romantic hero, the rom-com loser hero. There had to be a reaction," he says. Enter Dabangg, which put the bhaiya in the bhai, and so was born Chulbul Pandey, to join the iconic character Salman has most often played onscreen, loverboy Prem. He's playing him again in Ready, directed by Anees Bazmee. So it's no surprise that Titanic and Braveheart are his kind of films-it may also explain his strange accent. "I believe the entertainment industry is for children or for the child in everyone. Somebody wants to grow up like you, somebody wants to be you, somebody wants to remember their youth by you," he says.

From Photos

From Photos

He's not a great fan of change. "I get attached to things. It took me 35 years to go from the floor above to my house here. And that happened only because Sohail (his younger brother) took over my room when I went on a world tour," he says. Rather than being seen as a provider at large for his family, he believes they have been a great support to him. "I have no responsibilities. My family takes care of me more than I take care of them. They've always supported me," he says. Especially when he's in trouble, which can vary from being in Jodhpur Central Jail for six days in 2007 as Prisoner No. 343 in the blackbuck case to 17 days in Thane Central Jail in the hit-and-run case in 2002. His family bristles at the thought of being seen as parasites: "People behave as if he's been parking money in our accounts. No. The greatest thing about him is that he hasn't alienated us from his success. He wants us to enjoy it with him," says brother, actor Arbaa

From Photos

Film critic Nasreen Munni Kabir says Salman doesn't show himself in real life as the perfect, intelligent man but as a feckless fellow who bumbles through life learning from his mistakes as he continuously makes them. "He becomes human to us in a more meaningful way than the high achievers," she points out. As Salman himself says, "Some people think I'm a total jerk. And some people love me to death." He also has a habit of loving to death, as all accounts of him stalking Aishwarya Rai at the height of their romance indicate. Salman seems to have become philosophical about his love life. "You get somebody better for you. That person gets somebody better for them," he says in his famously cryptic way.

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He has finally learnt to move on romantically, though there is the odd fixation he has with casting lookalikes of his one-time girlfriends. His father puts it more poetically: "Salman suffers from divine dissatisfaction."

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or someone who grew up idolising Sanjay Dutt for his "gaadis and girls", he's quite impressed by his own fitness. "My body is better than it ever was," he says, looking at himself in a mirrored wall conveniently next to the sofa on which he receives guests like a mini-head of state. "The only fat I have is under my eyes," he says, denying he ever went in for hair grafting but quietly writing the number of the Dubai doctor who did the honours in case you need it. He keeps himself fit, whether by swimming, playing cricket or football, or simply trekking or cycling to work. He sleeps three hours a day, usually by 5 in the morning. "Either my mind wakes up and my body is tired. Or my body wakes up and my mind says 'go to sleep'.

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Sometimes both are sleepy and I'm wide awake." And sometimes he wakes up weeping, his pillow wet, dreaming of his days at The Scindia School, Gwalior.

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He's had a chequered academic career, weaving in and out of St. Anne's High School, Mumbai; The Scindia School; St. Stanislaus High School, Mumbai; and St. Xavier's, Mumbai, from where he was thrown out. Why? "Attendance. I always had that problem," he mumbles. He dropped out of third year at Elphinstone College, deciding not to take an exam one day because a cricket match seemed more interesting. He also gave up the idea of admission to the JJ School of Art because he thought the crowd was too "arty" for someone who was the proud possessor of a single pair of Wranglers bought by his mother's brother, Tiger Uncle, from Germany.
"I wore them until they tore," he says, recalling a time when the family was short of cash. His father agrees. "Remember I struggled for 10 years as an actor before I began writing. And then too, my first paycheck was Rs 10,000 for Haathi Mere Saathi."

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A Bandra boy who would often attend midnight mass with his gang after a drinking session, Salman has grown up with a Hindu mother, a Muslim father, and a Catholic stepmother. In many ways, he is Everyman. "What you see is what you get," says director Farah Khan, who's known him since her mother, Menaka Irani, acted with his father in a film, Bachpan, that ran for just one day. "He's never stopped a movie or not completed it even if he knew it was a turkey in the making. When he's good, there's no one like him."
As he contemplates marriage ("I'd like to have children"), a post-retirement career involving painting and working with his charity, the Being Human Foundation, the coolest thing about the always underrated Khan is that he's happy even with his lack of inches. "It's just a bit taller than the heroines and shorter than the villain." Because, of course, it's fun to beat up the bigger guy. Isn't that what heroes do?