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Salman Khan Really The ‘Bad Boy’ of Bollywood? ‘Sultan’ Actor Is Misunderstood Box Office Superstar, ‘Bhai’s’ Fans Say

By Patricia Grannum
Published on: 12:24 PST, Sep 25, 2016

Salman Khan has the reputation of being one of the biggest bad boys in Bollywood. As an article by the AFP notes, in his long career of acting in Hindi movies, Salman has been accused of killing a homeless man in a car accident, hunting endangered animals in India, physically assaulting former girlfriend and Miss World winner, Aishwarya Rai, and recently making very insensitive comments about rape victims.

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But despite all of the negative press, Salman Khan movies are still doing very well at the box office. According to the AFP, Khan’s recent blockbuster Sultan had the most successful opening weekend of any Bollywood movie in history. In the movie, Salman Khan plays an ageing wrestler. The film made 2 billion rupees ($31 million) during the first week of its release.

So, it’s plain to see that his hordes of fans still adore him and they aren’t afraid to share that admiration on social media. In fact, a comparison between the social media followings of the other big Khans of Hollyood, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, reveals that Salman has the highest number of followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The reason for Salman Khan’s popularity

Khan, who is fondly called “Bhai,” or “brother,” by his fans, appeals to a particular demographic of people who watch Hindi movies, according to the article by the AFP. Many of these fans are young men who look up to Khan for being 50 and still a bachelor. They also find his buff, muscled physique admirable and seek to emulate it.

“I watch every Salman film. I love him. He is the reason I am in this profession,” Abhishek, a Mumbai physical trainer told AFP.

According to the AFP article, unlike some of the other Bollywood stars, most of Salman’s fans are migrant workers who struggle to make a living in Mumbai but fantasize about a life of fame and fortune like their idol.

“He has always been the poster boy of a large section of the youth population,” said filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, who worked on the Salman Khan movie Salaam E Ishq in 2007.

As the BBC reports, the love of Salman Khan is so intense among his fans that a film about the 50 year-old Bollywood actor’s super-fans was made, called Being Bhaijaan. The makers of the film followed the group of fans around to learn why they loved their “Bhai” so much. These fans had modeled their lives after the Hum Aapke Hain Kaun star.

As Being Bhaijaan directors Shabani Hassanwalia and Samreen Farooqui told The New York Times, Salman Khan fans are mesmerized by what he represents: old fashioned values that favor a strong, dominant Indian man. So they’re not fazed by any of the negative press their idol gets in the media. They go to see his movies no matter what.

“Salman Khan’s fans are mainly in small towns; his appeal is strongest for the men who feel left behind in India’s race toward progress and development,” said Hassanwalia.

Salman Khan has acted in over 100 Hindi movies since he made his onscreen debut in the 1980s. Besides his work in film, Khan is also a TV star with a very popular stint as host of Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother.

[Featured Image by IIFA – Pool/Getty Images]

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