It’s not Eid unless a Salman Khan film releases. That was the meme going around about a decade back on Facebook, in the glory days of the social media network. And even though exaggerated, it did make sense. Eid meant Salman Khan fans going to the theatre and being regaled by a variant of his larger-than-life bhai persona in some action film or the other. From the early 2000s, when Tumko Na Bhool Payenge started the trend, to his unstoppable run in the 2010s, the superstar was synonymous with Eid.
The pandemic stopped that juggernaut, though. And since then, Salman has struggled to dominate his favourite festival as he once had. A few years ago, Salman could have sleepwalked through an Eid release, which would still break records. Sadly, though, Salman is sleepwalking through his films now, and the audience, it seems, has moved on. (Also read: Sikandar worldwide box office: Salman Khan film opens at just half of Jawan, fails to beat L2 Empuraan)
Salman and Eid love affair over?
In 2021, during the second wave, Salman Khan’s Radhe had a limited theatrical release while arriving on OTT simultaneously. It would be unfair to call Radhe a flop taking into account the circumstances of the time. But the lack of buzz it had was certainly a letdown. Salman finally arrived in theatres on Eid two years later with Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The much-maligned film managed just ₹13.50 crore on day 1. In contrast, Salman’s previous Eid opener – Bharat – had earned ₹42 crore in 2019, despite mixed reviews. AR Murugadoss’ Sikandar was supposed to bring the vintage Salman back. But the film – released yesterday, a day ahead of Eid – started on a disappointing note, collecting only ₹26 crore.
As contemporaries like Shah Rukh Khan have moved ahead with ₹55-60-crore openings even in the post-pandemic era, Salman is now vying for the top spot in the next tier with junior stars like Vicky Kaushal and Kartik Aaryan. Their films open at ₹25-30 crore. Even Ranbir Kapoor has given bigger openings in the recent past. For a Salman film releasing on Eid to struggle even to touch Chhaava’s opening figure truly signals the end of the love affair.
Where did it all go wrong, bhai?
There is an apocryphal story about Manchester United legend Goerge Best being spotted by a waiter in a five-star hotel in Spain, surrounded by women, caviar, champagne, and a newspaper that screams: ‘George Best – where did it all go wrong?’ The idea of the story was that Best was living his best life (no pun intended), unaware that not only was he losing his skills but connect with the fans too. Salman has none of the debaucheries of Best affecting him, but even his most ardent fans see a sense of fatigue in the actor. His last few films – Kisi Ka Bhai and Sikandar in particular – see him as a shadow of his former self, minus the charisma, the charm, and the mass appeal that resurrected his career after Wanted.
This is not the Salman of Dabangg or Kick. But this is also not the Salman of Biwi No 1 and Judwaa. Both those actors had one key difference from this version of bhai – they jumped out from the screen, grabbed you by the collar, and made you watch. No matter how cringe things got, Salman always entertained. And when he was at his best – think Tere Naam or Bajrangi Bhaijaan – he performed, too. Box office success was an afterthought. Quality was paramount.
Will the twain meet again?
None of his mass actioners from 2009-19 were as brain-dead as his recent releases. Even Race 3 was a notch above Sikandar, and that should tell you how low the bar is right now. Can Salman resurrect himself? Surely! The man has maintained a connect with his fans for 37 years, driving lakhs to theatres year after year, Eid after Eid. And if Shah Rukh Khan – the king of romance – can return as an action hero at 57, why can’t Salman do that? Perhaps he may want to borrow a page from the book of Rajinikanth, who engineered a similar resurrection for himself in his 50s, when he prioritised quality over just presentation. And voila, Thalaiva was back! No reason why we can’t see the return of the bhai, maybe on some Eid in the near future.
