SCOOPS: Salman Khan took 2.5 hours to look old in Bharat, Ekta Kapoor's message gets lost in Kangana vs Hrithik

In his upcoming Eid release, Bharat, Salman Khan plays a man who ages nearly 50 years during the course of the story. Incidentally, this is the first time the actor has used prosthetics for his look in his older stages. It would take him two-and-a-half hours to get ready for his scenes and at the end of the day’s shoot, just as long to remove the prosthetics and make-up.  

Ali Abbas Zafar, director of the film, which also stars Katrina Kaif, Disha Patani and Tabu, says they used major prosthetics for Salman’s older portion. “The prosthetics were designed by a UK-based company and executed with Indian make-up artistes. SK sir also tried over 20 different kinds of beards and moustaches for this look,” he states, adding, “It’s a very tedious process, but he would be patient. It would take him two-and-a-half hours to get ready. After the narration, he understood that not only did the script demand it, but this look is also very significant in keeping with his character graph. He was very supportive about the idea and the entire process.”  

What is also important to note is that because of his neurological condition — trigeminal neuralgia, for which he underwent surgery in 2011 — Salman was cautioned against doing dangerous stunts and using prosthetics as his skin needs to breathe. That’s one reason why, after considerable thought, decided to opt for this technology for his older look in the movie.

Baahubali actor Prabhas will next be seen in Saaho, which is being shot in three languages — Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. The sci-fi film will also be his official Bollywood debut. However, while he is proficient in the South languages, the actor faced difficulty when it came to Hindi. Though he is familiar with it, Prabhas cannot converse fluently in it. But, that has not deterred the actor who has become a national hero post Baahubali.

He says, “Saaho will cater to audiences across the nation with its story and setting. It is not difficult, but Hindi is not my first language. So, a lot of preparation went into it. I can read and write the language, but we don’t speak in Hindi at home. I have done a lot of homework for it and Soni (my teacher) conducted dialogue classes for more than a month. The first schedule was tough for me, but from the second one, it got better. I will only be dubbing for it in Hindi.”  

The action thriller, which also stars Shraddha Kapoor, has been shot in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Abu Dhabi, so far. 

— Chaya Unnikrishnan

Ekta Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut

When Ekta Kapoor announced the new release date of the Kangana Ranaut-Rajkummar Rao-starrer Mental Hai Kya from June 21 to July 26, where it would clash with Hrithik Roshan’s Super 30, she sent a statement, part of which said, “On knowing that there is already a movie scheduled for a release on that date, we did everything in our purview to ensure the other parties that there will be no mud slinging and it will be a dignified release. We stand by assuring that to all other parties.”

However, it is playing out differently as the social media is abuzz with tweets and counter tweets from fans and people belonging to the two teams. Ekta reacted saying, “The ugly underground tweets have begun. I’ve promised to keep it clean and have assurances from my actors on the same. I hope personal assaults on them stop.”

In the meantime, responding to allegations that the Queen actress influenced Ekta to choose the release date, Kangana’s sister Rangoli Chandel tweeted, “Balaji kya Kangana Ranaut ka production house hai jo woh jab chahe film release kare... (sic)”. And posted a series of tweets like, “What to expect from a man who always prefers to attack your back rather then meeting you in the battle field...(sic).”

One wonders if Ekta’s message has got lost in translation!