SALMAN KHAN INTERVIEW

Bollywood’s popular superstar Salman Khan has been enjoying new levels of success recently. Last year saw his breakthrough performance in the box office smash Tere Naam perfectly complimented with a special appearance in the family blockbuster Baghban. Of course the usual controversies surrounding his romantic affairs and manic lifestyle have somewhat overshadowed these achievements, but Salman is hoping his string of new releases will prove a point to harsh critics! In this interview he discusses the forthcoming film Garv…

Ques: Is this the first time you are playing a cop in the movie?
Salman: No, I played cop in the movie “Pathar Ke Phool” which my father wrote for me. But that was slightly early for me. This is the right time when the “Wardi” looks damn good on me. Once your walk is right, your costume is right; more than half the battle is won. You look your character and the battle is won.

Ques: Can you tell us a little bit about your character “Arjun Ranawat” in the movie “Garv”?
Salman: He is a guy who is angry, gentle, soft, cool, hard, merciful, ruthless, correct, honest and very lovable. That’s “Arjun Ranawat”.

Ques: Is he Romantic?
Salman: Yah he is a man with confidence in just about everything. But when it comes to love, he is shy. He loves his girl, and cannot tell her. He can shoot a person but when it comes to telling a person that he loves her, he cannot do that. He will sit back and look at her, smile at her, give her attitude and walk out of there.

Ques: In the movie “Garv” is your character based on a guy who fights against the system?
Salman: Pretty much! That’s what the film is about. A guy who stands against the system and can’t let evil take over the good. And so he fights for that.

Ques: Is this an action film?
Salman: Yes. It’s an action film. There are films in which there is action just for the sake of it. But in this film we have meaningful action. The action is hard-core. We have done a lot of shoot out scenes in the movie and there is also a lot of hand-to-hand action. There is one scene that is brutal, but we had to keep it that way to show what these people had done. So, there is action backed by emotion. Once that is there in the movie the action becomes ten times more powerful; you don’t need any technique, you don’t need cables and stuff like that. What you need is just one solid shot.

Ques: Tell us something about Puneet - the director of “Garv”.
Salman: He is Brilliant. There are very few people in this film industry who are competent, and know each and every aspect of film-making. He used to be an actor and he has done Martial Arts too. He is a humorous guy, technically brilliant and very straight. He has amazing script sense. He has put all this in the movie. That makes him a very complete director.

Ques: How is it working with Shilpa?
Salman: I have done about 6-7 movies with Shilpa and we are best of friends. There are no ego problems. No hassles, so it’s like friends working together. It’s amazing working with her. As an actress, she is damn good, dances very well, on screen she is phenomenon and has a huge fan following.

Ques: Who is your favourite co-star?
Salman: I like working with who ever I work with. If I don’t like somebody I may not want to work with that person. But if I have to work with a person, I will make sure that I like that person. My Grand father always says that “Maan nafrat se nahi, pyar se bhadtha hai”. So once you do a movie, you have to get along with the whole team. Even if you are pretending in the beginning, after 5-10 days you start liking that person.

Ques: Who is your favourite actor?
Salman: I like working with Sanjay Dutt. I have done one film with Sunny and its amazing working with him. I have worked with a lot of people. They say that Anil Kapoor is the most difficult to work with. But I think he is the coolest guy. Then Jackie Shroff. I have done two films with him and he is very hilarious. Now I am doing a film with Mithun Da. I worked with my hero Dharamji in “Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya”. Working with Amitabh Bacchan in “Baaghban” was good fun.

Ques: What excites you about a role, whether it is the script or something else?
Salman: Since my father is a scriptwriter, script is more important for me. Even if my role is not so exciting, if I like the script, I will do it. It’s nice working with people who can think of a good script and can write a good script.

Ques: Are you a fitness freak? I believe you cycle to your shoot. Is that true?
Salman: Yes, I cycle to my shoot. I cycle just about everywhere. I am not a fitness freak as such. It’s just that when you are 70-80 years old you should be able to walk, cycle and run a little bit. You shouldn’t be lying down on the bed and people, children and friends taking care of you. The day I stop walking that’s the day I stop living.

Interview Provided By Cinevistaas Ltd.