“They have to catch my eye”: Here’s what Salman Khan looks for in newcomers

By Nichola

on June 29, 2018

In the industry for the title of Best Loved Godfather, it would be a tie between Karan Johar and Salman Khan. While Johar has faced flak for so-called nepotism as he gives actors’ children their big Bollywood break, Salman Khan is hailed for helping a range of not-so-popular names, who are not all star kids. On the anvil are launch films for his trusted bodyguard Shera’s son Tiger, his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma, Katrina’s sister Isabelle Kaif and Zaheer Abbas, who is the son of his childhood friend.

Ask him his rationale and he responds, “Sooraj (Barjatya) launched me. I believe I should give back to the industry. It’s a joy to support the younger generation.” That is quintessential Salman, with a heart larger than his muscles.

Of course, conditions apply. He explains that they have to catch his eye. “If I don’t see it in someone, I’ll never encourage him. But if I find someone interesting, I’d definitely go for it.” He credits Aayush, Zaheer and Sooraj (Barjatya) for their hard work and “tremendous power and patience”. He likes that they are spending their energies training in things like dancing, action, horse-riding and skating apart from acting, which they might not have time for later.

Recently, during promotions of Race 3, Salman had shared that he has been working hard to match up with the newcomers, especially when they are so good at what they do. “When I started out in the late 1980s, I looked up to my seniors in the industry and wondered if we would ever be able to match the stardom of Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan. It seemed impossible at the time. Today, I think keeping up with the juniors and their fan-following is ten times harder. None of us older stars are letting go of anything easily, and we’re going to give the younger ones a hard time, but it’s not easy,” he admitted.

We like that superstar spirit!