Often filmmakers are seen decrying the habit of producers bookmarking the festival season for the release of A-lister’s films. This has been a tradition of sorts, where Indian festivals are booked by certain stars of the industry. Like Salman Khan has his films releasing on Eid weekend, Shah Rukh Khan owns Diwali, and Aamir Khan books Christmas.
Today, as Salman Khan announced his 2019’s Eid release – Bharat, let’s have a look at Khan’s Eid tradition in a more concise analysis.
Salman began banking on this festive season fairly a decade ago in 2009 with the release of Prabhu Dheva’s Wanted. Khan hit gold with this film, after facing four back-to-back flops – Marigold, God Tussi Great Ho, Heroes and Yuvvraaj. The film went on to lay the foundation for Khan’s blockbuster box-office presence.
Wanted was Salman’s first of the big Eid presents.
Salman followed it up with Dabangg the very next year. The Chulbul Pandey character totally worked in his favour. Dabangg went on to become Khan’s first 100 crore film in 2010.
However, Salman’s stature as the box-office charm always depended on his consistent performances. Dabangg’s blockbuster success was still looked upon as a one-off.
It was Bodyguard (2011) that affirmed his status as a box-office superstar. The movie didn’t really get thumbs up from critics, yet managed to become a Super-Hit at the Box Office.
Salman’s presence in a film, however, didn’t ever guarantee moolah. Take, for instance, 2014’s Jai Ho. Other than the fact that it didn’t release on Khan’s talismanic Eid time, our point here to state is Salman’s had to always deliver good performances to get results.
2012 saw Salman become the Box Office tiger and how. Salman’s action avatar and his on-screen romance with his then ex-girlfriend Katrina Kaif, which added a dash of glamour to the action flick, Ek Tha Tiger roared at the Box Office.
Ek Tha Tiger was followed by Kick (2014). Salman joined hands with Sajid Nadiadwala this time. The film’s music was given by Himesh Reshammiya, an instant hit among the masses. Kick was Salman’s 1st 200 crore film and emerged as a Super-Hit at the Box Office.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan released in 2015. This Kabir Khan drama touched hearts of millions across the border as well. It marked Salman’s 1st 300 crore film.
Sultan too became a major box-office success hitting the 300-crore mark in 2016. The Eid journey was a fun ride, until this year. With Tubelight, he kept his date with Eid again. However, much against the expectation, this Kabir Khan-Salman Khan duo’s film got panned by the critics. Audience too rejected the film and how! While some blamed the casting, some think it was sheer bad acting by Salman Khan.
As we said earlier, his stature as the box-office king always depended on his performance. Mere presence of Khan in his film, has time and again proved, never guarantees moolah.
As of now, Khan has booked 2019’s Eid for Bharat. The movie is an official adaptation of 2014 South Korean film, “Ode to My Father”, which narrates modern Korean history from the 1950s to the modern day through the life of an ordinary man and events such as the Hungnam Evacuation during the 1950 Korean War. The film will also depict the government’s decision to dispatch nurses and miners to West Germany in the ’60s and the Vietnam War.
We hope Salman doesn’t go wrong like Tubelight, which too had a historic background?
