Happy Birthday Salman Khan: The Megastar turns 50

Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan, popularly known and loved as Salman Khan, turns 50 today. The megastar famous for his larger-than-life roles on screen, made his debut in Maine Pyaar Kiya, a Sooraj R Barjatya film that went on to be the biggest grosser of all time.

Since then, Salman has been through a lot of ups and downs in his career, but it’s in the last 6 years that he has taken super stardom to a different level altogether in Bollywood.

Just a few days ago, Sanjay Leela Bhansali paid rich tribute to his good-friend, when he said “Salman is a cult, he stands in a film and it does 300 crore”

That’s the kind of stardom that Salman commands in the industry and his record in the last few years, starting with Dabangg in 2010 to Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in 2015, is unlikely to be matched, let alone surpassed, for a long time to come.

2015 has been a great year for the actor, but much like the rest of his life, it’s been a rollercoaster ride filled with many controversies. His tweets on the death sentence of terrorist Yakub Menon was heavily criticised. Both his father Salim Khan and Salman himself had to issue a public apology.

In May this year, Salman was convicted by the Bombay Sessions court of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The court found him guilty of all charges in the hit-and-run case and sentenced him to 5 years in prison. Shocked at the severity of the verdict, Salman broke down in court. He was later granted bail by the Bombay High Court on the same day.

In an emotional address to the media, Salman had said that the court cases are like “swords hanging over my head”

“What is going to happen to the verdicts. If you add five and five years it comes to 10-15 years. That is a big worry on my parents head, my head. It is a big one. It is not in magistrate court.. it is in High Court. Whatever will be my life’s journey after that.. will take it” he said.

Not even the actor himself would have imagined in his wildest of dreams that the happiest moment of his life would come in 2015 itself. In a verdict that came as a surprise to a lot of people, Salman was acquitted of all charges by the Bombay High Court. The megastar, loved by millions in the country, was finally a free man. The sword was no longer hanging on his head and the charges of ‘culpable homicide not amount to murder’ were rubbished by the Bombay High Court.

He tweeted “I accept the decision of the judiciary with humility. I thank my family, friends & fans for their support & prayers”

His career graph took a upward turn too, Salman delivered the highest grosser of the year and arguably the most loved film of 2015 in Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The film went on to collect Rs 321 crore at the domestic box office, cementing Salman’s position as the numero uno star in the country. He followed it up with Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, which did well enough to become his 3rd consecutive 200 crore grosser.

From the entire Indicine Team, we wish Salman Khan a very happy 50th birthday and hope that he remains in the best of health and entertains his fans for many more years to come.

What does Salman mean to you? What is it about him that makes you a fan of the actor? Tell us in the comments section below.