The Salman phenomenon

Friday saw the release of the Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the first film to be launched after the verdict on his infamous 2002 hit-and-run case in which one person died and five were injured and for which he faces five years in jail.

You would think that his being found guilty in such a heinous crime would affect the star's image and box office performance, but such is the Salman Khan craze that the film is expected to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the industry.

Even as I write this, on the day of its release, trade analysts say that not only have all five shows been booked across every multiplex today, but that the same holds true for the weekend across the country. Clearly, a small matter like being found on the wrong side of the law has not affected Khan's standing among his fans.

In many ways, Khan's trajectory defies all logic. You would think that a man being investigated for killing endangered species, indicted in a hit-and-run case and rumoured to use physical violence against women would be regarded with suspicion and hostility by the movie-going public. Not Khan. Not only does the public appear to adore him (the scenes outside the court deciding on his case recently spoke of mass frenzy and cult worship), but those within his own fraternity in the industry also single him out for praise and affection.

They swear by Khan's apparent goodness, his outstanding human values and his unstinting generosity, and spring to his defence at the drop of a hat.

Taken in purely business terms, Khan's triumph over his disadvantages and personal failures could be an invaluable lesson in "spin" and how to defy the odds of a poor product, a bad press, a lousy set of cards in hand to come out trumps.

If the star were a brand, say, a biscuit company that had everything going against it, like its products being found to contain worms, its workers revealed to be mistreated and its provenance illegal, and yet if the public clamoured to buy it, swore by its qualities and thronged to places it was sold, it would be a fair comparison to the Salman Khan phenomenon.

So what's the secret? How did the eternal bad boy of our times manage to carve such an enduring place in people's hearts? More pertinently: is there a crack "spinmeister" masterminding the star's every move? From the films he signs to the causes he aligns with to even the manner in which he faces personal defeat (as when his girlfriend very publicly ditched him for a younger star)?

For the answer one needn't look beyond the Khan household. Salim Khan, long retired Salman's father, was in his heyday known to be one half of Salim-Javed, the finest writing team the industry has known.

The team that gave India Sholay, Deewar and Don, films that championed the anti-hero, understood exactly which buttons to press in their audiences, knew exactly how to manipulate their responses and were credited to have a preternatural understanding of the movie-going public

Imagine if such a scriptwriter undertook to write the screenplay of his son's life, in real time and in real life, bringing all his understanding of Indian audience to bear?

Could Salim Khan be writing the ultimate script of his life - through the life and career of his star son?

Stranger things have been known to happen.

Malavika Sangghvi is a Mumbai-based writer
malavikasmumbai@gmail.com