Can Bajrangi Bhaijaan help Salman conquer another Eid at the BO?

This might be Salman's last movie before he goes to prison to serve his sentence

No Eid in the past few years, in India that is, is quite complete without the release of a blockbuster film from ‘Bhai’, as Salman Khan is affectionately referred to by fans. This year will see the actor star in the Kabir Khan-helmed ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, co-starring one of India’s leading actresses, Kareena Kapoor Khan. 

Since the release of its first look on May 28 2015, the movie – about bhaijan’s attempts to reunite a child from Pakistan who gets lost in India – has generated a substantial amount of buzz about it, especially online, In fact, a popular joke doing the rounds on social media claims that if it were to be subscription based, the trailer itself could pull in Rs 500 crore. By way of comparison, the two biggest hits of 2015 so far – Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Returns, both small/medium-budget films – have just about hit the Rs 100 crore mark. 



What makes the movie even more anticipated than previous Salman Khan releases is that this is the second film by the Kabir Khan-Salman Khan combination after the commercially successful, if critically ambiguous, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. More importantly, though, the shadow of the Bombay High Court’s decision in the American Bakery hit-and-run case looms large over the star’s future. The HC has deferred the next hearing in the case to July 1, about a fortnight before the films July 17 release. If it decides to send Khan back to jail, Bajrangi Bhaijaan could well be Salman Khan’s last release for a few years. Ironically, for that same reason, it might also turn out to be this year’s biggest moneyspinner.