In this year’s biggest Bollywood hit – Pathaan – a meta post-credit scene has Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan discussing whether they (and their characters) can leave the stage for the ‘next generation’. At a recent event, Salman Khan addressed this in real life and said that his generation of stars is ‘not going to give it up’ easily.
On Wednesday it was announced that Salman Khan would be hosting this year’s edition of the Filmfare Awards. At a press conference in Mumbai, the actor addressed media and spoke about the awards, the industry in general, and the state of cinema. When asked about the younger generation of actors, Salman said, “All of them are hard-working. All (are) very focused. But the five of us are not going to give it up so easily.” He further explained, “Ab five mein kaun hai (who are these five): Shah Rukh, Aamir, me, Akki (Akshay Kumar) and Ajay (Devgn).”
Salman added that he intended to give the younger actors ‘a run for their money’ at the box office. He continued, “We will give them a run for their money. We will tire them out. Hum logo ke picturein chalti hai, hum price badha dete hai. Woh uske chakkar me, jab hume nahi milta, price badha dete hai. Kyu bhai (We increase our fees after the success of our films. Now to combat that, these people too increase their prices when we are not available for films. Why so).”
Salman hasn’t had the best of records at the box office since the pandemic hit. However, he has two big releases lined up in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and Tiger 3. Akshay started the pandemic on a positive note with a big hit in Sooryavanshi but has since seen a string of unsuccessful films including big titles like Samrat Prithviraj and Ram Setu. Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha was also a failure at the box office. Shah Rukh Khan, however, delivered one of the biggest hits in Bollywood history with Pathaan earlier this year. He has two more films up for release this year, both eagerly anticipated. Similarly, Ajay has also had two successful films back to back in Drishyam 2 and Bholaa.
