MUMBAI: Bhai ka picture ka chaar ticket dena," goes a man in his late-twenties, bending into the box-office window at a single screen theatre in Mumbai's Mahim area.
The man behind the counter stamps four tickets and hands it over without batting an eyelid; he's been witness to this kind of request for the past many years - and for the past five days during which Salman Khan's debut with Yash Raj Films' (YRF's) 'Ek Tha Tiger' ('ETT') has shattered the Rs100 crore barrier in collections, as per data provided by YRF
Khan, 46, has hit bull's eye yet again, this time in the avatar of Avinash Singh Rathore, also known as Tiger. Unlike his last three blockbusters, Khan's latest—a non-typical Salman Khan action-romance flick—did not release traditionally on Eid but on Independence Day.
This is Salman's fourth Rs 100 crore in a row and his fifth big hit if one would count 'Wanted' in 2009, which fell some Rs 40 crore short of the Rs 100 crore club. Together, these five have grossed close to Rs 600 crore. And, of course, the ETT phenomenon—or rather another Salman wave—has just about only begun.
"There is an actor, a superstar and a phenomenon. Salman Khan is a phenomenon. He is beyond the film; he's an event. He takes the meaning of iconic to another level, a tsunami whose waves encompass the audience in his power. Watching ETT in a single theatre with that audience is another phenomenon," says film maker Karan Johar.
It's that connect with an audience that ranges from youth in the boondocks to the big cities that has landed him a bunch of endorsement contracts.
The brands range from Suzuki (bikes) to travel site Yatra (where Salman also has a stake); and there is Being Human, Salman's own apparel brand.
It's a streak for Salman, not too different from a similar phase another popular Bollywood actor Govinda went through, points out leading ad professional and author Santosh Desai.
"It's a phase when everyone cues into you for a different set of reasons. Khan has exaggerated playfulness, a comic-book view of turning a traditionally grim story and the audience connects with that," says Desai, who adds that the alpha male factor is (still) working fine.
Film makers and brand marketers will be wondering, though, how long Brand Salman can endure.
For one, his macho image has a lifespan. For another, controversies are not alien to Salman and a few from the past—like a decade-old hit-and-run case—could come back to take more than a little sheen off the brand.
So far, though, Salman has bounced back in style. The Being Human campaign was a masterstroke, reckons K V Sridhar, creative chief at Leo Burnett (besides the apparel brand, Being Human Foundation is an NGO focused on providing education and healthcare to those who can't afford it).
"It (Being Human) showed him as noble and likeable. So whilst on-screen he is the macho man, off-screen you see the approachable, soft side of him which as a combination works wonderfully for Brand Salman," adds Sridhar, pointing out that Being Human tshirts sell the most in B and C towns.
"In fact it's one of the most pirated brands today, which is a compliment in itself," he says. Nandini Dias, COO, Lodestar UM, a media agency, thinks with 'Being Human' Salman Khan has accomplished what no other star in India has managed so far.
"The real worth of a brand ambassador is known when people are willing to buy a product that has no other history or background except the star," says Dias.
That goodwill has been built over decades. "Salman has always had an unconditional fan following right from the beginning, irrespective of any other aspect, explains Prasoon Joshi, chairman & regional creative director for Asia Pacific, McCann Erickson.
"As far as true heroes go, I can only compare him to Rajnikant," he adds. As far as ETT director Kabir Khan is concerned, Brand Salman still has a lot of steam left.
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