‘Tigers can’t make excuses’
Salman Khan’s espionage drama Ek Tha Tiger raked in Rs 33 crore on its opening day
Uma Ramasubramanian


Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger
Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger

Action films take a toll, says Salman Khan, who is recovering from a facial nerve disorder, and adds disarmingly that a ‘Tiger’ can’t make excuses like "I am not well", a reference, of course, to his action film Ek Tha Tiger.

"I am the ‘Tiger’, I can’t make excuses like ‘I am unwell, I can’t do it’," Salman, who recently underwent treatment for trigeminal neuralgia in the US, said in an interview. "I have done everything like running, beating, falling, jumping from one place to another...if you are physically fit, you can perhaps do all this. But it takes a toll on your body when you are doing the same thing the whole day," he explained.

Salman Khan’s hard work seems to be paying rich dividends as his espionage romp Ek Tha Tiger raked in Rs 33 crore on its opening day.

Now Salman wants to go back to the romantic genre. "I am doing a romantic film soon. Action is very tough...One has to get up at odd hours, like early morning to do action films, work till late night, do action in conditions like hot weather, fighting on rooftops and dirty places. It is difficult," he said.

The 46-year-old is destiny’s child. Controversy, it appears, could be his middle name; he is neck deep in legal battles and health issues and has yet emerged the boxoffice king with back-to-back action blockbusters — Wanted, Dabangg, Ready and Bodyguard.

All these films entered the Rs 100-crore club and Ek Tha Tiger is on a record-breaking spree too. After setting a new record by raking in Rs 33 crore on the opening day, it has also smashed the weekend collection record by earning Rs 45 crore.

In Salman Khan’s view, with an increasing number of theatres and the rise in ticket prices, Rs 100 crore could soon be equivalent to Rs 10 crore.

"The exact collection starts from single screens and multiplexes in cities and small towns. With ticket prices and number of theatres also increasing, the films are likely to do a huge amount of business. Soon, this Rs 100 crore will be like Rs 10 crore," Salman said.

"And talking about the overseas business, who knows what business the film is exactly doing overseas? Once the distributor starts giving actual figures, the numbers will definitely go up."

Salman forayed into Bollywood with the 1988 film Biwi Ho Toh Aisi in a small role as Rekha’s spoilt brother-in-law. Success was his the very next year, with the 1989 romance Maine Pyaar Kiya.

There was no looking back after that. He climbed the ladder of success rapidly and churned out romantic hits like Love, Saajan, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

He, then, did romantic comedies like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and Partner. In 2009, he endorsed action with Wanted, the first in the series to hit the screen.





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