Salman Khan confesses he 'really wants to marry'

Quiz those who've interacted with him over the years and most would admit, there are two distinct Salman Khan personalities that shine through: one that is found on any other film set, and one that's only reserved for Sooraj Barjatya.
 
"He sees the good in the bad and turns it around. Like he did with Sonam Kapoor," laughs Bollywood's superstar during a media interaction, before sombrely adding: "Like he did with me. 

"Sooraj's direction has made me who I am as an actor."

Khan, who started his career-winning innings 26 years ago with 1989's cult classic, 'Maine Pyaar Kiya', confesses that he owes his success to Barjatya, who has time and again resurrected the actor's dipping popularity by directing him in a string of box office smash hits.

What followed were record-breaking collaborations with 1994's 'Huma Aapke Hain Koun...!' and 1999's 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

As the director-actor reunites for the upcoming 'Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo', Khan reveals: "I was going through a really bad phase just before 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' and I had signed some terrible films to make a house. 

"There was 'Andaz Apna Apna' and 'Karan Arjun', nothing else to my name. It was Sooraj who took a gamble with me and that paid off with 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'. My career took off from there. And now he's given me my biggest film ever."

'I told Sonam, follow Sooraj'

As 'Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo' releases globally on Thursday, a relatively quiet Sonam Kapoor - and Khan's lead co-star in the romantic drama - says: "There was no question of not doing the film. Whatever Soorajji does is brilliant. 

"When he came to me with the story, I literally cut him off before he could say much, screaming 'I am doing it!'," before hastily adding: "And Salman Khan was in the film; that's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Upon hearing this Khan adds: "Even if Shahid Kapoor was in the film and the script was rubbish, Sonam would have still done it."

Quiz the actress if her co-star imparted her with any tips during the filming, and Kapoor adds: "The one thing I learned from Salman during this film was to just copy Soorajji and do the film."

Is this true, one wonders?

Ask Khan and he says: "Totally. Give him the script of the worst film you have every seen. Something like 'Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag' and you ask Sooraj to rewrite that and he would turn it into a 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!' or even make a 'Sholay' out of it."

Wealth of love

'Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo', which loosely translates into 'I've received the wealth of love', sees Khan return as the proverbial on-screen lover, called Prem.

"This is my 15th 'Prem', and my fourth with Sooraj," states Khan. "This Prem is a lot more mature than the earlier films. It is the same genre, however, a lot more evolved.

"He's the man you would really want to marry; a lot like me."

While several may disagree, while several more may leap at that chance, Khan talks about why he waited 15 years to resurrect Prem in a Rajshri Productions, saying: "We needed a film that was bigger and better, not just in terms of business, but also scale. 

"Of course, the fate will be decided by audiences, but Sooraj and I needed a plot that was bigger than anything we had done before. He took the time and found a script. 

"The next one will happen sooner as he already has a plot ready."

While Khan hints at another collaboration of the director-actor duo in the near future, ask him about the most challenging part of his upcoming family drama and he says: "The challenge was to get back to the simplicity, which I once had and have now lost.

"But if there's anyone who can draw that out of me, it's Sooraj. He can get what I can't manage in any other film, no matter how hard I try."

Another record on the cards?

Khan, who is fresh off the success of his last cinematic outing with 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' admits he feels the pressure to hit the box office numbers with every film release.

He says: "I would be lying if I say that I don't care about numbers. But honest truth is, it is not because of my ego, but the fact that the production value of movies are going higher. Fans are finding tickets prices higher. 

"Producers want to break that number to see a return on investment. People are paying that much more to see a movie, want an experience. As an actor, I have to ensure the returns are worth it."

Critics would argue these days a film's marketing budget is sometimes more than a cost of an entire film; why not snip the excesses in the right places?

Khan says: "You know, some friends asked me the other day, when was 'Prem...' releasing. They had no idea of the release date; we aren't even heavily promoting this film.

"The reason why I promote films is because people should go and watch a movie in a theatre. If I do some sh**** film for money, I would be disinterested in even marketing it. People who go to cinema halls want to be convinced this is the right decision for them.

"If I believe in the film, I will do whatever it takes to convince them of the same."

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.