He will be 60 in December. But even his harshest critic cannot deny that Salman Khan is in the best shape of his life if the exciting trailer of his Eid film ‘Sikandar’ that releases today is any indication. It’s amazing. Seeing him pumped with pure adrenaline pulling off high octane stunts on screen at this age makes you wonder. When the actor made his breakthrough film in 1989 (the hugely successful romantic musical ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’) that catapulted him to stardom, Salman was just about 22 years old. At that age anybody above 40 was considered old. Over 50, and they were ancient. But I don’t think that thought has ever crossed Salman’s mind. And here he is, on the threshold of senior citizenship, busy defying age. Too engaged in pushing his body the extra mile. Too occupied in breaking records at the box office. Fully occupied in looking amazing.

I believe when you are having fun doing your job, then you work outside the constraint of frames like time and age. And that’s what Salman is doing. “I don’t feel my age,” he once told me. “My mother says I’m stuck at 13! But I’ve started getting injured a lot more and I’ve started feeling the pain a lot more. I’ve had fractures, strained muscles, torn ligaments, everything hurts, but I’m still working. I sleep for four hours. My doctor says, ‘Don’t be Rambo!’ But I can’t stop working. I believe you grow old and feel your age when you start getting tired; when you’re bored with life, unenthusiastic about your work, and when you lose that get-up-and-go impulsiveness. You need to be happy, excited and interested all the time. You need to be on the move. And don’t leave even one pore in your body open for the old man to get in. If you do, the old man will take over your life!”

“Enthusiasm and experience… it’s the best combo in the world,” he said in an interview for ‘Sikandar’. “Turning 60 does not matter. Today, the way I train and whatever I do, it is better than what I was in my 20s, 30s and 40s. I don’t feel it at all. In fact, it’s a lot easier.” He also told me once, “I don’t think of the future. My time is now. And I will do whatever I can do. Money, anybody can earn. But to be the universal ‘Bhai’ to everyone, that’s difficult. I go with what’s happening. And I try to take it to the next level. I’m having fun. Stallone is still Rocky and Rambo at 78. Filmmaking is beautiful. We sell dreams. Why shouldn’t I also live mine?” When he made ‘Bharat’ in 2019, Salman thought his septuagenarian character made him look like his uncles. Grizzled and sentimental. But Katrina Kaif, his co-star in ‘Bharat’, called him “Sexy” at 70. He’s got a long way to go. And plenty of action left within him as ‘Sikander’ will show.