Beyond Tubelight: A list of films where Salman Khan plays a character, not a star

He is known as Sallu Bhai, Bhaijaan, Salman and sometimes Dabangg Khan as well. His movies bring tornadoes and typhoons at the box-office with an envious track record of all-time-blockbusters lined up one after the other. He dances, romances heroines half his age, rips off his shirt revealing abs at the age of 51, does kick-ass action, and sets trends. While he is often regarded as a movie star who doesn’t act, there have been times in the past, where he has tried to move beyond the ordinary. Here are five of his on-screen characters — let’s have a look: Tere Naam (2003) [caption id=“attachment_3712553” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Tere Naam. Courtesy: YouTube/Eros[/caption] This Satish Kaushik film came at a time when Salman had done films like Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega and Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, where he was cast in somewhat similar roles. His contemporaries — Shah Rukh Khan with Devdas and Aamir still riding high with Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai — were zooming past, but Salman had nothing spectacular in his kitty, until Tere Naam released. In the film, he played the role of  Radhe Mohan, a rude scoundrel of the locality who falls in love with a girl (Bhoomika Chawla) who is timid. One fine day, he ends up in a physical brawl with other goons leaving him badly injured and mentally unstable. He spends most of his time in an asylum and he returns to his self only to realise that his true love is no more. Salman Khan’s overall demeanor in the film was much talked about. Phir Milenge (2004) [caption id=“attachment_3712559” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Phir Milenge
Courtesy: YouTube[/caption] Salman featured in this Revathi directorial as Shilpa Shetty’s college love who she meets after a long time at a reunion. They eventually end up sharing some intimate moments. Later Shetty finds that she has contracted HIV and looses her job. She fights a case in the court with the aid of a lawyer (played by Abhishek Bachchan) and in the course of the case Salman dies of AIDS. While Shetty was lauded for her performance, Khan was equally praised to be a part of this socially relevant film. His subtle portrayal of Shetty’s lover is one to watch out for. Kyon Ki! (2005) [caption id=“attachment_3712565” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Kyon Ki
Courtesy: YouTube[/caption] After Tere Naam, this was Salman’s second stint as a patient in a sanatorium. This Priyadarshan-directed film, although criticised for its pace and loose character sketching, earned good reviews for Salman. He plays the role of a man who is admitted to an asylum after he goes into shock at the death of his girlfriend. He falls in love with one of the doctors in the sanatorium (Kareena Kapoor) who helps him get back to his normal self. Dabangg (2010) [caption id=“attachment_3712567” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Dabangg
Courtesy: YouTube[/caption] It will not be an exaggeration to say that Dabangg is the turning point of Salman’s career, one that also brought in the trend of the 100-crore-club in the industry. Director Abhinav Kashyap’s film had Khan play the role of a police officer who has a swag of his own, a style statement and an uncanny disposition of being a sort-of-corrupt-yet-righteous policeman. His stardom reached insurmountable heights post the film’s release. Sultan (2016) [caption id=“attachment_3712569” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Sultan
Courtesy: YouTube[/caption] In Sultan, the actor plays his age and dons the role of a guy who is smitten by a more-successful female wrestler (Anushka Sharma) and does whatever it takes to win her love — even learning wrestling and eventually becoming a champion. His layered act of a lover, husband, aspiring sportsman is something we haven’t seen the actor pulling off in a long time.