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Portrait of a painter

Salman Khan paints too. He tells SANGEETHA DEVI. K all this and more

PHOTO: R.V.MOORTHY

MANY HATS? Salman Khan says that If David Dhawan is one of his favourite directors, painting is his favourite pastime

Sometime back when Salman Khan was asked about his role in Salaam-e-Ishq, he said he was playing "a complex role" in which he and Priyanka Chopra "play games against each other." In the film released this week, Khan makes the cinemagoers laugh with the way he pronounces his name Rahul as `Raoool'. Whatever the fate of the film at the box office, Khan is busy shooting for his forthcoming films.

One of them is the remake of Amar Akbar Anthony. Khan is enthused about it but not sure of the logistics. He and his brothers Sohail and Arbaaz have been roped in for this remake. "The rights for the remake have been acquired but we are going slow on the project. We want a different name for the film. I've seen the response to Don. Despite the good collections at the box office, people kept comparing it with the original. That's bound to happen. We don't want to offend senior actors who worked in the original. So the new film will have a lot of changes," he reveals. Khan brushes aside any reference to his controversial side with "I'm unpredictable, even to the media. It gets to me when people ask obnoxious questions. Have controversies made me wiser? I don't think so." The actor, who turned 42 last month, believes he has a long way to go. "My forthcoming film Marigold is an international project but I'm not looking at Hollywood. Let me get my Hindi films right." Given a chance, he'd like to relive his role in Maine Pyar Kiya. "I don't feel old at 42. But I've lost the innocence of my face; I doubt if I'd do justice to that role now."

When he is not acting or endorsing brands, he takes time out to paint.

At first hesitant to talk about his creative streak, he says, "My mother used to paint. But since she was caught up with family responsibilities, many of her paintings were left incomplete. I finished them. My paintings are not for public consumption. I know that the strokes aren't good enough. I don't paint with a theme in mind. Each work is different."

Choc-a-bloc

Khan's roster is now choc-a-bloc with projects. "David Dhawan is one of my favourite directors. We are doing a film called Partner, which will also star Govinda. There's also God Tusi Great Ho, London Dreams and a film with Priyadarshan.

Among my recent films, Baabul hasn't done well. On hindsight, I think the second half was a let down."

While he talks nineteen to the dozen on films, he evades any reference to his personal life.

"I am too young at heart to think of marriage," he quips.

SANGEETHA DEVI. K

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