After more than two years, Salman Khan He will be back on the big screen with his latest film ‘Antiem: The Final Truth’, which is all set to hit the theaters this week. Salman, who made his acting debut three decades ago, has delivered several blockbuster films in his career over the years. Today Salman is no more just an actor or a celebrity; It is a cultural phenomenon.
In this interview, the actor talks about the reason for remaking Marathi film ‘Antim’, his character of a cop in the upcoming film is different than before, and also reveals that the era of superstars is never ending. Why not in Bollywood?
When did you decide to remake Mulshi Pattern to Antiem: The Final Truth?
Dabangg-3’s DOP (Director of Photography) Mahesh Limaye narrated the story to me as he shot for the original film (Mulshi Pattern). I watched Marathi film much later when I was sitting at my farmhouse. There is a cop character in the film and I really liked it. But I realized that he had left his character only halfway. I realized that there were two characters (a cop and a gangster) who come from similar situations and take different paths. I felt that both the characters need to be given equal time. So I decided to make this film from the perspective of the police.
You have played the role of a cop several times including Dabangg and Radhe. Are you trying to create your own police universe?
I realize that I have played a cop many times but I really liked the subject. Initially I had two opinions whether I should do it or not, but this thought stuck in my mind. And, I was told that it was a small role but I refused to accept it. I was working on the script with Mahesh (Manjrekar) and I knew what we were making. We have taken the original plot from the original plot itself. The script has been changed and it is a completely different film. It is lavishly put together whereas the original was built on a limited budget.
How was the experience of working with Mahesh Manjrekar?
that’s very good. He is a multi-talented personality. He does acting, directing, choreography, singing, painting and also has some amazing food.
Mahesh Manjrekar was diagnosed with cancer during the shooting of the film.
He is a real fighter. They’ve fought it, touch the wood.
In many interviews, Mahesh has mentioned that he took away your stardom for this film…
Yes, he did it because you couldn’t make this character look like Dabangg. If I wanted to do that, I would have made Dabangg 4. This character has a seriousness which is similar to my character in Garv and also has a lot of nobility. He is very Hindustani. He is stern and is not screaming or yelling. He focuses on what he wants to do. He will take orders and be humiliated but he will do what he wants to do at the right time. He will show his feelings but will also sacrifice someone for the cause. There were only four or five scenes of a cop in a Marathi film. I didn’t want to remake the Mulshi pattern. Like I said, I just took the plot and made a different film.
But the audience loves to see you in larger than life characters…
It is also larger than life, but at the same time it is realistic. There’s action and all the other stuff but it’s just that this character looks best alone so we didn’t have a heroine with him and the only place in the movie where he dances is brother’s birthday and that’s because he’s on his own. Junior sees the officer behind him shaking a leg.
Your fans will miss your iconic moves…
He is also in the film. they are different. Dabangg Mein Kick or Hum Aapke Hain Kaun Se was different…! Hum Dil De Chuke was different from Sanam. All my aspects are decided by the director. In this the director wanted something that you would not have seen till now. There are many one-liners in the film which are seti-maar.
Whatever cop character you have played in the past, it is different. How did you decide to do this character?
I was on the farm. My hair had also grown and my beard had also grown and we were about to shoot the film in Punjab, but due to the lockdown, we could not do it. I realized that the story could be set in any village in our country. We have many Sardar Police here in Maharashtra also. So we decided to shoot the film here. Also there was discussion that this is Aayush Sharma’s film. He is in the film but the film Paaji ki he hai (the film is mine).
With theaters opening and Sooryavanshi doing well, does that give you a lot of confidence?
I was really impressed by the media. This is the first time in many years that I have felt that the critics have shown any kind of kindness and sensitivity and complacency and ignored the film. He advised people to go to theaters and watch the film. So, it was really good. If people don’t go to theatres, how will we write new films?
With the boom of OTT during the lockdown, do you think the magic of cinemas has faded?
No! I knew cinemas would be closed for some time but once the vaccination is done, people will come back and the shooting will also resume. I don’t think cinema can replace OTT and vice versa. Because it’s not the same thing as watching something at home, sitting with family will be watched on TV or laptop, it’s no fun to watch anything on phone or iPad, it’s best to watch on TV, but that too on a theater screen does not match. Initially people had said that theaters would be closed for fifteen days or so, but I had said nothing less than 1.5 to 2 years. Theaters give that family feel. There are a lot of options outside our country (for entertainment), but still we can look at the number of their movies and see how many theaters they have.
With the advent of OTT, we got many new talents. Do you think the era of superstars is going slowly?
I’ve been hearing this for the last four generations, ‘Ki ye peech gen hai (this is the last generation of stars’). I don’t think the events of Superstars will ever fade away. We will go and then someone else will come. I don’t think the age of stars will pass. It depends on a lot of things, the choice of movies, who you are in real life, and more. It is a complete package of things. This young generation will have their own superstardom. We will not leave it to the younger generation to take it easy. We will not hand it over to them. ‘Work hard brother, if you are doing mehndi in fifty plus, then you should also do mehndi.
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