Salman Khan's Latest Film: Bodyguard
August 26, 2011
When it comes to being punctual and doing his duties perfectly, Lovely Singh is unmatchable. Taking great pride in what he does, he spares no effort in giving his everything to his profession. Summoned for an assignment of guarding Divya, the daughter of Sartaj Rana, a business tycoon, Lovely Singh accompanies her to her campus, but ends up rubbing her the wrong way with his over-protective nature and paranoia about security. She finds him to be a major obstacle in leading a regular campus life.
To throw him off-track and get him out of the way, she comes up with a ‘master-plan’- that of trapping him in a fake love affair. ‘Once he’s smitten by the girl of his dreams and is reveling in his new-found romance, he will leave us alone, and we shall be free to do our own thing unhindered’, says Divya to her friends. She becomes an anonymous admirer of his and starts hounding him, expressing her ‘feelings’ in no uncertain terms. Lovely Singh however proves to be a tough nut to crack, and it takes quite a bit of doing from her side to penetrate his fort-like exterior.
But once she succeeds in doing so, he transforms into a completely different person. Divya is triumphant and is all set to relish her regained freedom. But things take an unexpected turn when she learns a few things about Lovely Singh. Things that she could’ve never even imagined! And she soon finds herself trapped in a dilemma that she’s unable to resolve! And with her, soon enough, Lovely Singh finds himself ensnared in a web of lies, trickery and deceit. Bodyguard is the story of conflict- between innocence and mischief, love and power, and life and death!
Interview with Salman Khan
After Wanted (2009) and Dabangg (2010), will Bodyguard be your third consecutive Eid blockbuster?
Let the Wednesday the film releases decide that. Everyone wants to make a film that will surpass their last films. I’m no different. And today, we have the technical know-how to up the standards but we still haven’t discovered a hit formula. So, all you can do is make a good, sensible, emotional film and leave it at that.
But the expectations from ‘Brand Salman’ have risen?
Expectations are high because people have watched my last few films. But it’s true in other cases too. For example, you always expect a little more from your girlfriend and vice versa (smiles).
Your last two films with Kareena Kapoor, Kyun Ki! (2005) and Main Aur Mrs Khanna (2009) didn’t work. Will this one break the jinx?
In our film industry, certain people dismiss an on-screen pairing as panvati (jinxed) if their last few films haven’t worked at the box office. But I believe that if a heroine is perfectly suited for a particular role, why shouldn’t I get her? In Wanted, we cast Ayesha Takia in the lead because she fit the part. And the film was a superhit!
Is Katrina Kaif doing a cameo in Bodyguard or a special appearance in the title track?
I start out as her bodyguard so she appears in the title song, Aaya Re Aaya… to establish the fact. Later, of course, I become Kareena’s bodyguard.
Is Bodyguard a special film for you since your sister Alvira is co-producing it with husband Atul Agnihotri?
It doesn’t matter who is producing the film. A film is a film. People are going to spend money, from Rs 10 to Rs 400, to watch it. So, my responsibility is towards them. Once audiences like the film and they start coming in numbers, my responsibility towards the producer will be automatically fulfilled.
How is Dabangg 2 shaping up? Have you really written parts of the script?
Dabangg 2 is simply an extension of the first film. Chulbul Pandey is an interesting guy so I think we won’t have any problems with the character. In fact, we have finalized and locked the script of the sequel. I haven’t written anything in the script since it’s completely Arbaaz’s (Khan) film. Since Chulbul has shades of gray, it’s easily to meander into different genres — comedy, action and romance. Now that the character of Chulbul is established, we can easily take it to the next level.
We’ve heard that Chulbul is moving to a metro now?
Yes, Chulbul is moving to a bigger city. (Smiles) Now, there’s a lot more jhol in Dabangg 2.
Many feel you seem to be stuck on action films these days?
Nothing like that, every film has action, even Ready. For instance, you can’t call every film a musical just because it has 4-5 songs. In fact, I had to work harder on Ready because the action scenes had to make you laugh.
Have you lost weight for Ek Tha Tiger?
No, it’s just that I was training hard for the climax of Bodyguard and carried the lean look into Ek Tha Tiger.
You met Somy Ali recently in Bangkok while shooting for Ready?
Sure, I did. She flew down to Bangkok from Hong Kong because she had some work in Hong Kong. What’s the big deal?
Somy has said that Aishwarya Rai was responsible for your split?
(Smiles) Somy said it, so ask her. I don’t know anything.
To throw him off-track and get him out of the way, she comes up with a ‘master-plan’- that of trapping him in a fake love affair. ‘Once he’s smitten by the girl of his dreams and is reveling in his new-found romance, he will leave us alone, and we shall be free to do our own thing unhindered’, says Divya to her friends. She becomes an anonymous admirer of his and starts hounding him, expressing her ‘feelings’ in no uncertain terms. Lovely Singh however proves to be a tough nut to crack, and it takes quite a bit of doing from her side to penetrate his fort-like exterior.
But once she succeeds in doing so, he transforms into a completely different person. Divya is triumphant and is all set to relish her regained freedom. But things take an unexpected turn when she learns a few things about Lovely Singh. Things that she could’ve never even imagined! And she soon finds herself trapped in a dilemma that she’s unable to resolve! And with her, soon enough, Lovely Singh finds himself ensnared in a web of lies, trickery and deceit. Bodyguard is the story of conflict- between innocence and mischief, love and power, and life and death!
Interview with Salman Khan
After Wanted (2009) and Dabangg (2010), will Bodyguard be your third consecutive Eid blockbuster?
Let the Wednesday the film releases decide that. Everyone wants to make a film that will surpass their last films. I’m no different. And today, we have the technical know-how to up the standards but we still haven’t discovered a hit formula. So, all you can do is make a good, sensible, emotional film and leave it at that.
But the expectations from ‘Brand Salman’ have risen?
Expectations are high because people have watched my last few films. But it’s true in other cases too. For example, you always expect a little more from your girlfriend and vice versa (smiles).
Your last two films with Kareena Kapoor, Kyun Ki! (2005) and Main Aur Mrs Khanna (2009) didn’t work. Will this one break the jinx?
In our film industry, certain people dismiss an on-screen pairing as panvati (jinxed) if their last few films haven’t worked at the box office. But I believe that if a heroine is perfectly suited for a particular role, why shouldn’t I get her? In Wanted, we cast Ayesha Takia in the lead because she fit the part. And the film was a superhit!
Is Katrina Kaif doing a cameo in Bodyguard or a special appearance in the title track?
I start out as her bodyguard so she appears in the title song, Aaya Re Aaya… to establish the fact. Later, of course, I become Kareena’s bodyguard.
Is Bodyguard a special film for you since your sister Alvira is co-producing it with husband Atul Agnihotri?
It doesn’t matter who is producing the film. A film is a film. People are going to spend money, from Rs 10 to Rs 400, to watch it. So, my responsibility is towards them. Once audiences like the film and they start coming in numbers, my responsibility towards the producer will be automatically fulfilled.
How is Dabangg 2 shaping up? Have you really written parts of the script?
Dabangg 2 is simply an extension of the first film. Chulbul Pandey is an interesting guy so I think we won’t have any problems with the character. In fact, we have finalized and locked the script of the sequel. I haven’t written anything in the script since it’s completely Arbaaz’s (Khan) film. Since Chulbul has shades of gray, it’s easily to meander into different genres — comedy, action and romance. Now that the character of Chulbul is established, we can easily take it to the next level.
We’ve heard that Chulbul is moving to a metro now?
Yes, Chulbul is moving to a bigger city. (Smiles) Now, there’s a lot more jhol in Dabangg 2.
Many feel you seem to be stuck on action films these days?
Nothing like that, every film has action, even Ready. For instance, you can’t call every film a musical just because it has 4-5 songs. In fact, I had to work harder on Ready because the action scenes had to make you laugh.
Have you lost weight for Ek Tha Tiger?
No, it’s just that I was training hard for the climax of Bodyguard and carried the lean look into Ek Tha Tiger.
You met Somy Ali recently in Bangkok while shooting for Ready?
Sure, I did. She flew down to Bangkok from Hong Kong because she had some work in Hong Kong. What’s the big deal?
Somy has said that Aishwarya Rai was responsible for your split?
(Smiles) Somy said it, so ask her. I don’t know anything.