Just as Santa Claus comes for Christmas, Salman Khan comes for Eid. And both these splendid gentlemen do pretty much the same thing. They bring joy in people’s lives. I like that about them. That dependability. It’s a given that come the festival, and they will 100 % deliver their promise of presents. Now I am past that age when I look forward to Santa, but Salman – his Eid gift is a treat that I eagerly wait for as soon as he announces its arrival. This is in the form of a trailer. In three minutes or so, he jumbles up your senses with a teasing dekho into what his imminent release is all about. And you know even then, that the critics can say what they want, it is the fans who have the final say in the box office success of a Salman Khan Eid film. Who is going to argue with them? This is the kind of audience that will whistle, clap, cheer and throw coins the first time their hero makes his appearance on the screen. And he gives them paisa vasool by doing it with an inimitable swag that makes even a guest appearance by him in a friendly film appear like an earthquake has struck the theatre. As the film progresses, the fans will sing and dance when he does. They will match his every step, copy all his expressions, memorize his macho dialogues. I don’t know how much of the film they actually see with this kind of participation in its screening. So many of them go for it a second and third time. It is the auditorium full of diehard fans that makes the box office tills ring for Salman’s Eid releases.

I have seen this happening ever since the actor made Eid truly a celebration to look forward to after the sacrifices of the faithful during the Holy Month of Ramadan with his blockbuster gangster action thriller ‘Wanted’ in 2009. It wasn’t rocket science for Salman to figure out that this is what the fans wanted from him. And he gave it to them generously in subsequent Eids. Presenting ‘Dabangg’ in 2010, ‘Bodyguard’ in 2011, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ in 2012, ‘Kick’ in 2014, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ in 2015, ‘Sultan’ in 2016, ‘Bharat’ in 2019 and ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ in 2023. Tomorrow, it will be ‘Sikander’. The same story all over again. And I can tell you the film is already a hit. Go see it tomorrow if you can. Before Eid is declared. And the festivities begin.

For you will not get a ticket Monday onwards. I am going. First day, first show. It is an Eid tradition with me because Salman is my friend and I enjoy his films. I like the way he makes the outrageous action he pulls off on screen seem believable. How he makes the most impossible odds acceptable. I like the gentlemanly, respectful way he romances his heroine. The swagger in his walk, the mischievous twinkle in his eye, the roguish smile on his face, his murderous expression when he confronts the villain, and the way he grows on screen and bursts out of his clothes like the Incredible Hulk in the end savage moments when it is curtains for all that is evil. This is a success formula he has got right from 2009 and will be bang on the money in 2025.