ART.

SALMAN KHAN ILLUSTRATES THAT

BELIEVES ASHWINI DESHMUKH

AN

WHATMADEBHARAT

SPECIAL?

Thereasonfordoing

thisfilmwasthe

plot.A nine-year-

oldboyis giventhe

responsibilityof

takingcareof his

motherandthree

siblingsbyhisfather.

Fromtheageof nine

to 72,thisperson

doeseverything

to keephisfamily

together.Theynag

himto settledown

buthekeepshis

promiseagainst

allodds.

SOMEWHERE,IT

REFLECTSYOUROWN

LIFESTORY.YOU’VE

ALWAYSBEENKNOWN

TOSUPPORTYOUR

STARDOMWILLFADEEVENTUALLY.IT’SA HUGETASKTO

KEEPIT GOINGFORSUCHA LONGTIME. SHAHRUKH

(KHAN),AAMIR(KHAN),AKKI(AKSHAYKUMAR),AJAY

(DEVGN)...WE’RETHEONLYONESWHO’VEBEENABLETO

PULLIT OFFFORSUCHA LONGTIME...THENLIKEIN THE

CASEOFALLSUPERSTARS,THEBOX-OFFICECOLLECTION

WILLCOMEDOWNTO 10 PERCENT

SALMAN KHAN HAS A DECEPTIVE NONCHALANCE

ABOUT HIM. He appears misleadingly casual about his films and

his celebrity status. There’s no attempt to intellectualise his work or

an effort to impress. But those close to him know how committed

he's as an artiste. He plays a man from 27 to 72 in Ali Abbas Zafar’s

Bharat. For that he’s revisited changing landscapes of time and

emotions, just as he switched from silhouette to silhouette to be

in sync with the character’s altering physicality. It could also mark

his gentle initiation into doing mature roles. He’s candid about

consciously having to keep the ‘old man’ at bay. He’s forthcoming

about having to jostle with aches and pains even as he packs a

punch on the screen. The heartwarming honesty perhaps comes

from the fact that the megastar has not lost touch with the person

he is. Perhaps, his late-night rendezvous with painting and writing

and perhaps the shadows that have stalked the spotlight have

helped him keep the conversation going with himself... Excerpts...

FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

It’s the opposite.

(Laughs) They’ve

supported me all

along. I need their

support instead.

HOW DIFFICULT WAS

IT TO GET THE CURVE

OF YOUR CHARACTER

RIGHT IN BHARAT?

It was difficult but

fun. I had to lose

a lot of weight to

play the 27-year-old.

Then I had to put on

weight right away

to look 55. There’s a

difference of 15 kilos

between the two

looks. Then, I had to

come back to looking

like a 27-year-old

as you can’t shoot

all the portions all