New Delhi: The grand success of ‘Bodyguard’ has made people think about the wider acceptance that actor Salman Khan enjoys across all classes. Salman’s huge fan base and the media have started to compare his accomplishments to southern megastar Rajinikanth. He is said to be even starring in a biopic based on the life of Rajnikanth.
However, the current situation compels us to think whether Salman can fit into Rajinikanth’s shoes.
‘Bodyguard’ has broken all opening records. ‘Ready’, ‘Dabangg’ and ‘Wanted’ were also enormous victories at the box office. Through these films, Salman has emerged as someone who looks natural in the most unnatural scenes.
This ‘extraordinary’ characteristic is a new insertion in Salman’s screen image. He is a star since ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, ‘Sanam Bewafa’ and ‘Baaghi’, but his latest films have established him as a cash magnet at the box office.
Nobody seems concerned about what supernatural powers Salman is flaunting on the screen. All they want is to see Salman beating up goons or dancing with heroines. Basically, Salman has reached a stage, where he is doing all sorts of unbelievable stunts associated with Rajinikanth since many years.
However, there are a lot of differences in their basic styles.
Rajinikanth or for that matter, many other southern superstars have portrayed such characters which are heavily influenced by social concerns.
Invariably, they are shown as someone who is the champions of gratifying public grievances. Most of the times, their political commitment outside the screen space earned them more respect than their films. In simplified version, their onscreen avatars were the fantasized version of their outside obligations.
Although, Salman is well known for his charity work but still his reel life commitments are nowhere close to his real one.
Rajinikanth has come from a very humble background and has an ordinary appearance. This ‘commonness’ of his face endears him to the mass, who would love to think themselves in place of their 'Rajini appa'.
Salman on the other hand looks much more suave and urban. With a well-toned body, he does not look like any commoner. So, the audience feels a distance despite loving him whole-heartedly. In a nutshell, Salman remains a star, while Rajnikanth becomes the hero.
Salman has still not taken his actions to the level of Rajinikanth, who can split a bullet into two, but one also needs to understand that the audience can accept only Rajinikanth in similar scenes, at least till now.
Rajinikanth has cultivated his image over so many years despite the lack of such focused media attention as the industry has now.
Salman, in a sense, is still nascent in the image making business, because he has started doing films based on south Indian pattern, only after ‘Wanted’. Thus, his new image will take some time to sink in.
Unlike, Rajinikanth, Salman’s films are less preachy and that makes it more difficult for the audiences to accept him as the next Rajnikanth. It might feel like fresh breeze to see Salman as Salman, but it would be difficult for him to share a mutual space with Rajinikanth, without turning loud and clear.
However, the current situation compels us to think whether Salman can fit into Rajinikanth’s shoes.
‘Bodyguard’ has broken all opening records. ‘Ready’, ‘Dabangg’ and ‘Wanted’ were also enormous victories at the box office. Through these films, Salman has emerged as someone who looks natural in the most unnatural scenes.
This ‘extraordinary’ characteristic is a new insertion in Salman’s screen image. He is a star since ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, ‘Sanam Bewafa’ and ‘Baaghi’, but his latest films have established him as a cash magnet at the box office.
Nobody seems concerned about what supernatural powers Salman is flaunting on the screen. All they want is to see Salman beating up goons or dancing with heroines. Basically, Salman has reached a stage, where he is doing all sorts of unbelievable stunts associated with Rajinikanth since many years.
However, there are a lot of differences in their basic styles.
Rajinikanth or for that matter, many other southern superstars have portrayed such characters which are heavily influenced by social concerns.
Invariably, they are shown as someone who is the champions of gratifying public grievances. Most of the times, their political commitment outside the screen space earned them more respect than their films. In simplified version, their onscreen avatars were the fantasized version of their outside obligations.
Although, Salman is well known for his charity work but still his reel life commitments are nowhere close to his real one.
Rajinikanth has come from a very humble background and has an ordinary appearance. This ‘commonness’ of his face endears him to the mass, who would love to think themselves in place of their 'Rajini appa'.
Salman on the other hand looks much more suave and urban. With a well-toned body, he does not look like any commoner. So, the audience feels a distance despite loving him whole-heartedly. In a nutshell, Salman remains a star, while Rajnikanth becomes the hero.
Salman has still not taken his actions to the level of Rajinikanth, who can split a bullet into two, but one also needs to understand that the audience can accept only Rajinikanth in similar scenes, at least till now.
Rajinikanth has cultivated his image over so many years despite the lack of such focused media attention as the industry has now.
Salman, in a sense, is still nascent in the image making business, because he has started doing films based on south Indian pattern, only after ‘Wanted’. Thus, his new image will take some time to sink in.
Unlike, Rajinikanth, Salman’s films are less preachy and that makes it more difficult for the audiences to accept him as the next Rajnikanth. It might feel like fresh breeze to see Salman as Salman, but it would be difficult for him to share a mutual space with Rajinikanth, without turning loud and clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment