#he brought out the big guns for this diwali party

[triviareads]

as I read Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde, I'm pondering on the true desi girl experience being trying your damnedest to wear a different Indian outfit for every occasion while a guy just rolls up in the same kurta every time but you can't even fault him because he looks good in it 😭😭😭

[born2battle]

Tenure in Peace Station @ Binnaguri

  Advance party left Joshimath in the first week of Sep to take charge at Binnaguri once again (surprisingly after our short tenure earlier). It was clarified that this repeat tenure was planned to give the Regiment the opportunity to complete it’s Peace tenure, especially after the participation in 1971 War followed by intense tenure of two years in high altitude area. The Main Body left by Special Train from Raiwala and reached Binnaguri after a long journey of ten days. We celebrated the Gunner's Day on 28 Sep 1974, when we were also accorded the formal welcome by other units of the Artillery Brigade. In the interim period some Jawans availed their annual leave which had to be completed by the end of the year.

  Our Regiment was fortunately allotted newly constructed accommodation for the Unit complex as well as family quarters for the officers and the Jawans. This enabled settling down quickly and allowed the families to be brought to the Cantonment. New facilities that had been created in the last two years included Shopping Complex, Army School & an Open Air Cinema Hall. The overall impression was that of a self contained township. 

  Thereafter, we began conversion training onto yet another weapon system --- the 105mm Indian Field Gun, which had been produced indigenously. This training was imparted by a team of Instructors in Gunnery and was to culminate in conversion firing in Buxaduar Ranges. We were surprised in the midst of conversion training, by the arrival of our new CO ---- Lt Col T N Konar who took over command on 28 Oct 1974. He had a reputation of being a hard task master, which he proved by his very presence during the training. The conversion firing was completed with gusto & our TIGER complimented us with the traditional message on the radio network ---” Good Shooting” !!! 

  We returned from the Ranges one week before the Diwali festival. It coincided with Children’s Day and was celebrated in a typical Fauji manner, at a central location in the Cantonment. There was a Fauji Mela having various stalls for handicrafts & regional cuisine. In the evening, there were cultural performances by Jawans, wearing their traditional attire. I was impressed, observing the enthusiasm and josh  displayed by the Jawans, in true spirit of unity in diversity. The celebrations ended with a magnificent fireworks display. It was my first experience of yet another method of bonding , by adopting various measures for welfare of the jawans & the families, specially in a peace station. Goal oriented training during the year also contributed immensely towards strengthening the team spirit  while simultaneously improving the standards of professional competence of all the Units. It proved the adage ... ‘The more you sweat in Peace , the less you bleed in War.’ 

    Several sports competitions were planned in Dec & Jan at the Brigade level .Our CO insisted that at least one officer & two JCOs must be a part of the Regiment team for each competition. I volunteered for participation in Cross Country & Hockey competitions. It was a challenge for me to prove my capabilities as a part of the Cross Country team of top 20 JATs. We commenced Cross Country practice precisely at sunrise daily, while Hockey team practised in the evenings. This continued for almost a month. Finally, we won the Cross Country trophy with a big margin & were the Runners up in Hockey..... a big impact soon on reaching Binnaguri. It was followed by another resounding victory by our Kabaddi & Wrestling teams,both these sports being their expertise.

  In the first week of March, I received the unexpected news about my selection for attending the very first Advance Gunnery Course at Deolali. I left after a preparatory capsule as designed by the CO personally. It was indeed nostalgic to be back again in Deolali (Home of the Gunners)!! It was going to prove as the next step to enhance my knowledge about all types of Guns, Mortars and Rocket systems. It was definitely difficult to understand all these aspects in a short span of two months. However, all of us studied round the clock and qualified successfully. I was fortunate to top the course while securing ‘Alpha’ grading. Thereafter, I availed one month of leave at Aurangabad and returned to the Regiment beaming with a sense of pride. Our CO complimented my performance in front of the entire Regiment during the monthly Sainik Sammelan.

  Thereafter, I was appointed as the Adjutant and looked forward to shouldering additional responsibilities. The very first responsibility was the Raising Day Celebrations which was organised centrally, after a long break due to our previous deployment in high altitude area. My CO also advised me to devote at least one hour daily for preparing for my next goal of selection for Long Gunnery Staff Course. The peace tenure in Binnaguri gave us an opportunity to apply ourselves towards learning about  Unit administration. As Junior Officers, we were assigned various tasks by rotation e.g. Canteen Officer, Mess Secretary, Office Documentation, Stock Taking Boards, all types of Inspections etc. We also learnt the protocols of social interaction within the Unit and with other Units in the Cantonment. As bachelors, we were privileged to be invited for dinners by officers having families in the station. We too reciprocated by hosting a fabulous brunch on Sundays. 

      Meanwhile, I had booked a Bajaj scooter to be purchased through CSD ( Canteen Stores Dept.). The waiting period was two months and the scooter had to be collected from CSD Depot located at Gauhati. I went along with my Buddy, by train to Gauhati and returned with my new acquisition, after booking the scooter by the Passenger train. This scooter occupied its place of pride in the Officers Mess. My scooter was used more by other officers than me, since I preferred to walk down to the Unit. I found time during this trip to visit the famous Kamakhya Temple.

  In Sep, we attended Collective Training with Infantry Battalions. I got a chance to be the OP Officer with the Sikh Battalion. During the exercise, I observed the ability of Sikh soldiers to come up with innovative solutions, when faced with any challenge. They always adopted the ‘हो  जाएगा ’  approach. Their peculiar war cry- बोले सोनी हाल, सत स्री अकाल was always a source of motivation under all circumstances. In Oct, we proceeded to Buxaduar Ranges for the Annual Practice Camp. Our performance was adjudged as ‘Outstanding’ by the team of Instructors in Gunnery detailed by School Of Artillery, Deolali. After the Camp, we visited Jaldapara National Park in small groups. This visit to a wildlife sanctuary was very exciting due to the presence of One- horned Rhino

  In the first week of Dec, our CO received his posting order, which was a surprise since he had just completed one year at the helm of affairs. All officers & their families decided to give the first family, a surprise farewell by organising a trip to Darjeeling. All bachelors took the responsibility for planning this trip at a short notice. Our entire’ Team 98′ led by the CO travelled together in a tourist bus upto Siliguri. Thereafter, we undertook  the journey by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (popularly called the Toy Train) which was very captivating. In the evening, we organised a special farewell party in the Army Holiday Home, located at an altitude of 2000 meters.              

  Next morning, we got up at 3 AM and immediately left for Tiger Hill, which was at an altitude of 2500 meters. There was an air of excitement and expectation, while all the visitors waited eagerly for the view of the majestic Kanchenjunga. Just before the sunrise, we observed the transformation of the colours on the horizon of the Himalayan Ranges which was soon followed by the sunrise itself, when Kanchenjunga glittered in all its glory. It was truly a miraculous, sight still etched in my memory. We then began our return journey to Binnaguri, reflecting on the incredible spectacle of nature which we had just witnessed and hoped to get a chance to visit again. 

  On return to Binnaguri, we organised the central farewell Bara Khana in honour of our distinguished CO. On 23 Dec 1975 , we bid him an adieu from the Officers Mess to the tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. His successor, Lt Col I Lokendar arrived on posting after two months  and assumed command on 23 Feb 1976. Meanwhile, we had certain other changes as well, with posting- in / posting- out of a few officers. However, the  Jat Balwans continued to perform in a commendable manner, not only in sports competitions but also in technical competitions. It was noteworthy that the Regiment secured third position out of 15 teams, in  the Inter- Battalion Athletics Competition at the divisional level. 

  In the first week of April, I was thrilled to receive the news that I had been selected to attend the prestigious Long Gunnery Staff Course at School Of Artillery, Deolali. I was required to report by 30 Jun 1976, which gave me sufficient time for preparatory training. It was indeed a moment to cherish, since I had achieved my goal within five years of commission in the Regiment of Artillery. The Regiment had indeed been instrumental in giving Wings to my Dreams!!!

[regret-dot-jpg]

Run Run Rudolph

Chapter 1: (i’ll add on the other chapters in reblogs)

If there was one thing Blackwatch knew how to do, it was how to celebrate the holidays.

They celebrated just about every major holiday— Shogatsu, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, you name it. Genji suspected it was largely because the agents just wanted a reason to party.

When he first arrived at Blackwatch, he had found it annoying. The constant cheer was...a bit much. But even he hadn’t been able to resist the buzz of excitement that came with the holiday season. Eventually, after an unbelievable amount of bargaining, he ended up being dragged along to Overwatch’s annual Christmas party by none other than a certain cowboy.

Overwatch and Blackwatch threw a joint Christmas party each year, one that was known for being a very big event. With a lot of people there, which was why Genji had been apprehensive to attend. But against all expectations, he had actually enjoyed himself. A large part of it was thanks to Jesse, who at that point he had taken a liking to (not like he would’ve admitted it though). Looking back, Genji guessed that the Christmas party was what had started his definite fondness for Overwatch’s holiday season.

Whatever the case was, he was willing to admit that he was also looking forward to this year’s Christmas party. But that had nothing on Jesse’s excitement, which was practically tangible as the cowboy eyed the decorations lining the walls of the lounge.

“Just a week til the party, Gen.” Jesse grinned, drumming his fingers on the cup of hot chocolate in his grip. He lifted the cup to his lips, only to wince and immediately lower it.

“And you are just one more sip away from completely burning your tongue.” Genji noted with dry amusement.

“Pretty sure I’m already there.” Jesse made a face, gingerly set the cup down on the round table between them. For good measure, he pushed the cup a few inches away from him.

Genji snorted in amusement. He paused to eye the agents setting up a mistletoe right above the doorway.

“That’s either gonna go really wrong, or really right.” The cowboy mused, following his gaze. The agents were now giggling uncontrollably, probably thinking about the chaos that would ensue, “Probably a bit of both.”

Genji couldn’t help but agree. At the very least, it was bound to be a little entertaining.

“Is Blackwatch doing anything special this year?” He asked, leaning back in his seat. His leg was bent and drawn up onto it, letting him rest his arm on his knee. Jesse liked to say he made sitting look “edgy”.

“For the party? I think we’re getting a bouncy house.”

“A bouncy house.” Genji repeated, blinking. He raised an eyebrow, “Those are for children.”

“Then it’s a bouncy house for not-children. Don’t know if we actually are getting one, though. I’ll ask Reyes. But speaking of the party…” Jesse leaned forward, grinning. There was a very noticeable mischievous twinkle in his eyes, “What say we have a lil wager?”

“I’m not wearing a mistletoe headband, Jesse.”

Jesse blinked, was silent for about five seconds, then promptly burst into laughter.

“That’s not what I was gonna suggest, but I shoulda.” He snickered, “Missed an opportunity right there. You’d probably punch the lights out of anybody with a two foot radius.”

Jesse paused there, then mock-dramatically clasped his hands together, fluttering thick brown lashes, “And who knows? We could’ve even smooched a little.”

Genji purposely ignored how something in his chest twitched at the joke.

“If you so much as think about getting me a mistletoe headband, the next time I’m on laundry duty, I’m burning your laundry.”

As per Blackwatch tradition, all the agents with for, rooms in the same hallway took turns doing everybody’s laundry. While it wasn’t the worst thing to do, nobody (including Genji) enjoyed laundry duty. But he and Jesse had room right next to each other, so the threat was very much possible.

“Relax, I ain’t doing that. Yet. But, funny you should mention laundry duty….”

Genji’s tilted his head in curiosity, “What about it?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe we could have a bet for the Christmas party.” Jesse smiled slyly, “Loser takes the other’s laundry shift for a month.”

Genji raised an eyebrow. Oh, he was really interested now.

“Is that so?” He said, the corner of his mouth quirking up, “What’s the bet?”

Jesse paused to think, drumming on the table as he thought. After a few moments, his face lit up with an idea.

“How bout this—I wear something completely fucking ridiculous or the entire party. If it’s crazy enough, I win. If not, you win.”

Genji considered the bet. Fair enough, he supposed. But he couldn’t pass up the clear opportunity laid out before him.

“Hmm. That might be a little unfair.” Genji declared nonchalantly, a faint smirk spreading across his face, “It might be hard to find something even more ridiculous than what you’re already wearing.”

Jesse’s mouth fell open in a mix of amusement and indignation.

“Really. Is that what you think?”

“Yes. Why?” Genji teased, looking straight at the cowboy in what was clearly a challenge, “Already worried you’re going to lose?

Jesse laughed, shaking his head.

“Oh, Genji, sweetheart.” He smiled sweetly, “You’re definitely losing this bet.”

                                                  _____________

The problem with being two of Blackwatch’s— scratch that, Overwatch’s — most elite agents was that they were well known. That, combined with Jesse’s general popularity because of his charm, Genji’s apparently “mysteriously dangerous” persona, and their reputation as the “dynamic duo” (Jesse’s words, not his) word of their bet spread relatively quickly.

It wasn’t like it was plastered everywhere he went, but Genji had definitely seen multiple agents trying to figure out the outcome of the bet. Every now and then, he would catch a couple agents looking over at him and Jesse, excitedly whispering. Hell, even Reyes brought it up during a team briefing (“Just don’t walk into the party naked , okay?”). And then Angela mentioned it during a routine checkup the next day.

Jesse, of course, ate it all up.

Knowing him, it was no secret that he was going to wear something utterly ridiculous. The question was what. It was a wild card. He refused to say what he was planning, so all Genji could do was guess. By the day of the party, Jesse had definitely found something, if the excited, conspirative grin he had on his face throughout all of lunch meant anything.

Lunch that day was light, largely because of how busy the kitchen staff was with preparing the food for the Christmas party in the evening. The bustling, buzzing energy of the kitchen staff was matched intensely by all the other agents. The general atmosphere could only be described as excited, something which Jesse embodied pretty well.

“Hate to break it to ya Genji, but you’re going down.” The cowboy declared matter of factly, slapping a hand down on the table for emphasis.

“Hmm.” Genji cocked his head, “In what? Today’s training session or the bet?”

“Both, probably. You’ll see.” Jesse winked,  “You’re in for a big surprise, hon.” 

“And what would that surprise be?”

“If I told ya it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” Jesse sarcastically shook his finger at him, pretending as if he was scolding a child. Genji just shook his head in fond exasperation.

Turns out, the both won the training session, being that they ended up on the same team. It was them against a team of four, which sounded unfair until you realized how easily they wiped the floor with their opponents. Genji would have felt a little bad about it, if it wasn't so oddly entertaining. But the moment the session was over, Jesse glanced at the clock and began packing up his gear.

“You’re in a hurry.” Genji noted, watching Jesse quickly undo the straps of of his standard issued training chest armor. He could see the four agents they fought walking past out of the corner of his eye, regarding the two with almost reverent expressions.

Jesse glanced at the clock once more, then nodded.

“Yup. It’s five. Just two hours until the party. I have to shower and get ready.”

Genji leaned against the wall. He didn’t have to wear any armor, being his most of his body was armor, so he just waited for the cowboy to finish taking off his.

“You need two hours to get ready?” He asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

“Hey, I ain’t just wearing some generic ugly sweater. Besides, I don’t think I’ll need all that time, but just in case, ya know?” Jesse gesture vaguely, then dumped his armor into a bin. After double checking that Peacekeeper was in its holster, Jesse turned to the cyborg with an impish grin.

“I gotta go. And I’ll see you at the party.” Jesse snapped both his hand into a finger gun. With that, he turned and strided off, a noticeable pep in his step and cheerful whistling giving away his excitement.

Genji watched him go, undeniably curious about what was in store. But, he figured, he could wait. He would find out soon enough, anyway.

                                               _____________

“Genji!”

The cyborg turned in the direction of the voice to see Angela walking towards him in a green sweater, a cup of eggnog in her hand and a bright smile on her face. Thankfully, the Christmas music blasting over the sound system wasn’t too loud, so she didn’t have to yell again to be heard.

The party was starting to reach full swing around them, as Christmas music blared over the loudspeakers and agents mingled and danced. Genji could hear the distant voices of a lively karaoke duet by the piano. The walls were lined with paper snowflakes, shining Christmas lights, and other decorations. Every now and then, little fake snow machines would shoot out artificial snowflakes, dousing nearby agents, which either made them laugh in delight or groan in annoyance.

It was around 7:30 or so, and Genji could say that, yes, he was enjoying himself. While he was no longer much of a big party person, he was much better with such events than he was when he first joined Blackwatch. As long as he could do what he wanted at his own pace, parties weren’t bad.

“Hello, Angela.” Genji tipped his head in greeting.

“Have you tried the eggnog yet?” Angela paused to take a sip of said drink, “It’s very good.”

“I will later, once Captain Amari has finished beating Reinhardt.” His voice lifted upwards with amusement towards the end of his statement. Ana and Reinhardt were currently in a competition to make the best gingerbread house in the quickest amount of time. To put it lightly, Ana was winning.

“That must be soon, by the looks of it.” She smiled, watching the competition for a bit, before resuming the conversation, “Is Jesse here yet?”

“If he was, I have a feeling we would know.” Genji said dryly. Angela laughed, nodding.

“That’s true.” She said, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Jesse still wasn’t here yet, and Genji couldn’t help but wonder what was taking him so much time. Had his costume ripped? Or perhaps he was chickening out, Genji mused. No, that was unlikely. Jesse was too much of a reckless idiot to chicken out over something like this.

“It must be something big, if he is taking so long.” Angela mused, “Maybe he’s wearing a giant inflatable snowman costume.”

Genji snorted in amusement, “Knowing him, that’s actually possible.”

At that very moment, the set of double doors slammed open. Being that there was a party going on, that was a pretty common occurrence with people coming and going, so Genji wouldn’t have paid it any special attention.

But what did get his attention, and the attention of everybody nearby, was the giant red and green present box being wheeled in. The present box was huge, to the point that if it was any bigger it might not have fit in the doorway.

The agent wheeling the giant present in was a man he didn’t recognize. The man looked around the room, as if he was looking for somebody, then set his gaze on Genji.

“Present for Genji Shimada.” The agent announced, wheeling the present towards him. Genji blinked, confusion settling in as he belatedly registered that, yes, the giant present was for him. Angela gave him a curious look, but he was just as lost as she was. The man came to a stop a few feet from Genji, sliding the metal wheeling contraption away from the present and setting it down.

With that, he backed away, allowing a curious crowd to form around Genji and the giant present. This close, he could guess that box was probably big enough to hold at least two people. This all happened within the span of a few minutes, and it was so out of the blue Genji wasn’t sure if it was real.

“....What?” Genji muttered in confusion, taking a half-step forward. And that was all he was able to do before the present suddenly fell open, the cardboards walls of the box hitting the ground and revealing—

“ Suuurpriiiiiiiise!”

The first thing he noticed was the red mini skirt.

A second later, his brain caught up with was happening and then he actually registered what he was looking at.  Jesse was standing inside the now open box, posing flamboyantly with his hips swung to one side and one arm up in the air with flourish.  He was missing his cowboy hat, instead wearing a  Santa hat cocked slightly to the side, more of a decoration than actual a hat. But as Genji’s eyes dipped lower, he realized that there was a much, much bigger problem on hand.

Jesse hadn't just ditched the cowboy hat; he had ditched all of his normal getup. Instead, he had on what appeared to be a Santa costume of some sort. But....barely. There was no way that qualified as clothing.  He had on a red, off the shoulder crop top and sleek white gloves covering half of his forearms. The sleeves of the top went down to his elbows, ending with a strip of fluffy-looking white cloth. But the part of the top covering his torso, however, was nowhere near as modest.

The neckline of the top, being that it was off the shoulder, dipped distractingly low. To make matters worse, the first of the three black buttons on the front was unbuttoned, making the center of the top dip into a sharp, revealing V. That, coupled with how distractingly tight the top was, practically put a spotlight on Jesse’s pecs. The red fabric clung to his chest, leaving little to the imagination.

What was almost equally distracting was how the red crop top cut off directly underneath his chest. All the golden-tan muscle of his torso was on full display, from his abs down to his hips. God, his hips. Genji’s eyes couldn’t help but follow down the bare curves of his body, tracing from the waist to wide hips.

A matching red mini skirt clung to Jesse’s noticeable hips, with a fake black belt with a golden buckle along the top edge, and..….oh, wow, that was a short skirt. It only reached past a few inches down his thick thighs. The entire image was only amplified by how the skirt seemed to strain over his thighs and hips, hugging the curves tightly. It was short. Dangerously short.

Genji was keenly aware that skirts like that could slide up very, very easily.

When he was finally able to drag his gaze lower, down legs that seemed to go on for miles, he noticed the above-the-knee red and white socks. The socks, which were spiral-striped like a candy cane, disappeared into black high heels with shiny golden buckles.

Once he had dazedly taken in all of the outfit, Genji’s gaze flitted back up to Jesse’s face, only to be caught off guard again when he realized that Jesse had put on makeup. His lips were shiny with glittery lipstick, and his thickly lashed, brown eyes were embellished with dark red, slightly glittery eyeshadow and winged eyeliner.

“Well?” Jesse grinned, lowering his hand back to his side and waiting expectantly for a reaction. The crowd surrounding them was entirely quiet, seemingly just as shocked.

Genji stared wordlessly, eyes wide and at a complete loss for words.

“You…” He muttered, internally grasping for full sentences. Jesse raised an eyebrow and strided closer, which of course made Genji lose his train of thought as he stared at the cowboy’s swaying hips.

He swallowed dryly.

“You win.”

Around them, the crowd gathered burst to life, hooting with the energy that could only be found at parties. Jesse’s eyes lit up with victory, “Told ya so, sweetheart. You are stuck with laundry duty, sucker. And one more thing...Check this out. I even got one a’ those temporary tattoos.”

Jesse spun on his heel, and all coherent thought flew out of Genji’s head as he stared at the sight before him. Beside him, Angela let out a surprised little gasp. There, on the small of Jesse’s back, was the word “Naughty”, written out in gaudy cursive font. A tramp stamp, that part of him from his old life pointed out.

And even using every last bit of his willpower, Genji wasn’t able to stop his eyes from dipping even lower.

It was downright illegal how goddamn amazing Jesse’s ass looked in that mini skirt. Something in Genji must have short circuited, because there wasn’t a single thought in his mind in that moment, aside from the ones that he immediately shut out. He just couldn’t stop staring.

Thankfully, Jesse turned back around to face him after a few seconds, and Genji was resolutely not disappointed.

“Wow.” Angela said, eyebrows nearly reaching her hairline. She shook her head, a disbelieving smile on her face.

“That’s not all. Got one last surprise.” Jesse declared patting his hip.

He adjusted his skirt, hips wiggling as he shifted it around slightly.Then he dipped his thumbs under the fabric and suddenly pulled up two very thin black strips. Jesse pulled the strips up over his hip bones, then let them snap onto the skin there.

Genji stared at thin, string-like black strips standing out against the the tan skin just below Jesse’s waist, brain faltering as he the realization slowly sunk in.

“Guess what?” Jesse grinned, lips glinting with the glittery lipstick, “It came with a g string.”

Genji looked down at the black strips, then up at Jesse, then back down, and finally made the connection between the words and what he was looking at.

The crowd around them practically exploded. The agents clamored with delighted laughter and whooping, loudly cheering on the entire scandalousness of the situation. Somebody wolf whistled loudly. Jesse laughed and blew a kiss in that general direction. His flamboyant entrance and his outfit was just what was need to start tipping the Christmas party into the wild spectacle it was known for being. And he knew it, too, if his smug grin said anything.

This was going to be a long party.

[salmankhanholics]

★ “People are embarrassed to do good things”: Salman Khan !

June 17, 2017

Loved by all and the darling of the box office, Salman Khan, was never able to strike a balance between pleasing his diehard fans as well as the critics, until lately.

In the last few years, the superstar has put his best foot forward and received not only his usual dose of adulation from his dedicated audience but also managed to impress naysayers with his acting chops, at least, most of them.

In the last few years, the superstar has put his best foot forward and received not only his usual dose of adulation from his dedicated audience but also managed to impress naysayers with his acting chops, at least, most of them.

Now the actor has taken another big risk by skipping his larger-than-life onscreen persona to play a simpleton in Kabir Khan’s upcoming film Tubelight.

Ahead of the film’s release, Salman Khan, in a freewheeling chat with Vajir Singh and Shweta Kulkarni, reveals how he is pushing the envelope to get better with each film. In characteristic style, he says, “Level bada rahe hai mediocrity ke upar.” Over to the man of the moment…

Another Eid and another big release…

These festive dates are the best dates for movie releases. Since it’s the holiday period, people have received their salaries, families get together at that point of time…

Also, here, if we want some entertainment, we go either to a park or to watch a movie. So I think the culture we have of people going and watching a movie together, with friends or family… I think that’s the best outing there is in our country.

Since 2009, since Wanted, Eid has become synonymous with Salman Khan.

I lucked out with that. There were plenty of movies even before that. Biwi No 1 also released during Ramadan, against the World Cup. It did really well. So, for us, we never got Eid-Eid, most of them were during Ramadan, three-four days before Eid. But after that, ek boost milta hai which is a fun thing.

My first film Maine Pyaar Kiya released in December during Christmas. Now Tiger Zinda Hai will release during Christmas. So, basically, these days, you know like January 26, August 15, during children’s vacations, during exam time, no one releases their films. So basically, when people are relaxed, exams are over, people are in a happy mood, those are the times you release films. Even festive seasons have a nice, happy mood, like Diwali, Holi… people have holidays on these days and they want to go and see a movie during that time.

You just mentioned Biwi No 1, which opened with 100-per cent occupancy. Those were times when movies were judged on their occupancy, whereas today it’s all about the opening… Rs 20 crore, Rs 30 crore… Does it pressurise you, that more than anything else, it’s only about the number of crores a film earns?

You know, pressure comes when you are doing a film that you don’t have full confidence in. So, if you have not signed the film for the right reasons, which means you have not loved the script, but instead signed it under some pressure ke dost bana raha hai, dates are available, you are not getting good offers… then you are under pressure, and when you are giving interviews and stuff like that, aap jhoot bol rahe ho. You are basically conning the audience.

You say, ‘This is the best film that I have ever done’, when you know that yeh picture mein kuch dum hai hi nahi aur aap usko promote kiye jaa rahe ho. I think that has stopped with all of us since quite some time. Earlier, producers and directors did not let us hear the script. We didn’t know what the characters were like in the movie. Agar aapne bola ki ‘sir story suna di jiye,’ toh it was considered rude. It was like, ‘Yeh toh batameez aadmi hai.’

However, now we do only what we like. So when you do interviews and stuff like that now, you are genuinely talking about the movie and your character. How that translates later is decided only by your fans.

Also, today, everyone wants to break records, even we want to do that, everyone wants to do that and it is the best thing for the industry. But when that doesn’t happen, we hope that kum se kum flop na ho and nobody loses their money. A lot goes into making a film, it’s almost a dedh saal ka process, so much creativity is involved, so much hard work, so many people’s careers depend on it, so a movie should not flop.

Earlier, when a movie would flop, jashn hota tha, party hoti thi. Now people have realised that if kisi ki film flop hogayi, toh yeh asar humpar bhi padega. So, today, everyone in the industry wants every film to do well. A regional film like Baahubali (The Conclusion) made about 500 crores here, with the Hindi film-going audience. That means our Hindi audiences are so amazing ki they watch an English film, they watch a Hindi film, and they watch a regional film too because the film is a good film.

So they don’t have this, arey yeh Tamil film hai, Telegu film hai, picture acchi hai? Haan, firhum jayenge dekhne ke liye. For the business that Baahubali has made, some of the credit goes to Hindi cinema viewers. Obviously, the director SS Rajamouli is fantastic; the writer is fantastic, like he is the most amazing writer that is there. Vijayendra Prasadji even wrote Bajrangi Bhaijaan for us. So you know it’s a whole package of combinations.

The story goes that the writer wanted only you to play Bajrangi…

Yes, yes pehle toh we didn’t know ki kya hai. Then Kabir (Khan) met him in Hyderabad, he then called me from Hyderabad and said, ‘Ya, this is good.’ Otherwise, main tohdodge kar raha tha, but what a man and what an outstanding script he gave us. So I heard it and loved it.

First Ek Tha Tiger, then Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Was it difficult for the Kabir-Salman combination to come together for Tubelight?

We would have never made Tubelight if the script was not better than Bajrangi. It was fantastic on the script level. For the next film, we will have a problem because it has to be better than Tubelight!

Kabir Khan has brought the best shades of you onscreen, he has unleashed you as an actor…

(Laughs) Yes, our journey started with Ek Tha Tiger. It was a very cool stylish film, and then we went on to this emotional film called Bajrangi, a very simple character, and now we have come up with Tubelight, which is a lot simpler than Bajrangi Bhaijaan. It’s a very pure, noble character. He just wants to stop the war so that his brother comes back to him. He wants the Chinese jawans to go back to their families, and our soldiers to get back to their families, bas ki yeh jung khatam hojaye. You know, hum sab mein ek cheez bahut kam hogayi hai, woh hai yaqeen.

We don’t believe in ourselves any more. Everyone says we gave our best but nahi hua. That means you haven’t given your best. Agar aapne best diya hota, toh woh ho jaata. This happens because you don’t have enough confidence in yourself, or someone has discouraged you because of which your morale has broken and you cannot achieve what you actually want to achieve.

You know, we always say, kaash kuch aur maang leta, or arey I was just thinking about you and you called, toh usme toh koi telephone vagre toh hai nahi na, apne socha and it was conveyed to the universe and the universe conspired to get you there. So when somebody needs something and s/he sends it out in the universe, the universe works like a wireless and in the end what you desire, from somewhere or the other, comes to you. It’s all belief.

Coming back to the character, this boy, Laxman, stays in Jagatpur and he is praying and believes that he will stop the war and his brother will come back.

In what ways could you relate to your character, Laxman?

Not any more. I mean, we have grown up and that innocence has gone. We have become smart; we have become clever; there is a certain amount of corruption in our thought. So, even when we want to do something, we can’t do it. We are afraid of what people will think… Yeh toh image change karne ki koshish kar raha hai, or he is trying to show a different side. We are always aware of all this.

When we were young, 12 or 14 years old, thoughts like these never bothered us. Today, people are embarrassed to do good things, which is the worst thing that has happened to all of us; it is really, really sad. Galat karne mein kisi ko koi problem nahi hai, lekin accha karne mein people are conscious. People are hesitant to do good.

Like you said, we have lost our innocence, whereas this character, Laxman, is very pure and very innocent. How did you bring out that innocence in him?

You remember your past, what you were like before you started movies, how you were in school. That was the connect I did. When I heard the script, I was, like, abhi ka Salman Khan toh yeh role play hi nahi kar payega. I had to go back to when I was 12-13 years old. Memories of when you are 12-13 years old are engraved in your brain. That was the journey I had to go through.

So, suddenly, Sohail and I started talking about when we were growing up, our friends, iska naam kya hai, yeh kaha hain, kuch kuch friends toh delete hi hogaye the life se… When we started talking, we discovered that one friend was in New Zealand, someone else was in Australia. There is this childhood friend who grew up with me, and when I was in New Zealand, he came to see me there and it was one of the best feelings ever. I keep in touch with all the school ke dost. So I connected to all those memories. I had to go back to when I was a child to get this character right.

What attracted you to Tubelight?

The script, you know, bada zamana ho gaya hai, ki bhaiyon ke upar kahani nahi aayi, and Tubelightbasically is a love story of two brothers. The elder brother is simple and the younger one is like a man, and one of these guys goes to war and the other one is waiting for his brother to come back, not knowing whether he will and what will happen to his life. He is a helpless boy, he can’t do anything, he can’t pick up a gun, he can’t go to war, he is not a tiger that he would just go get his brother back.

He has a different way to bring his brother back, which is the most noble – belief and self-confidence. You don’t have to pick up a gun, you don’t have to take on 50-60 people, but just by your niceness and your heart, you can achieve things. Since Sohail was playing the character, there was no acting involved, it went beautifully.

What was your thought process when Kabir narrated the film to you for the first time?

I actually loved the film. I loved the character. The screenplay goes so beautifully. So when he was narrating the script to me, I was totally involved with it. First, I didn’t see the character because it’s a very difficult character to play. You can go overboard, you can mimic someone, it could look caricaturish… then uss mein woh baat nahi aati.

So you either overdo it or you under play it. You need to strike the right chord. So 15 minutes into the film, when I was hearing it, I started getting the character right. By the time we were done with the narration, I was already there. Then the most difficult thing was to walk like the character and talk like the character. Once I got the walk and the talk, I was ready for it. Abproblem yeh hai ki I am doing Tiger Zinda Hai, and that walk is still stuck with me. So I have to get that swag back.

One thing one has consistently noticed over the years is your chemistry with kids onscreen; your emotions and expressions are so real when you have scenes with children.

I believe jiska time accha chal raha hai, whoever’s comic timing is working well, don’t disturb it. Uske beech ungli mat karo because you will only look like a fool. Similarly, don’t compete with kids because you don’t know what they will do. If you try to compete with a child, you are finished. The same goes for animals. You can compete with your co-stars and everyone else but don’t ever compete with these three things.

Usually, when there is a function or a gathering, ek aadmi ki timing uss waqt solid chal rahi hotihai, ab uske beech aap ghusoge na toh sab upset hojayenge. They’ll say, ‘Shut up, yaar, what are you doing?’ These are the places where you should never show off and try to say, ‘I can do better than him.’ You should never do that. You look better only if you are not doing anything and are just being yourself. Even acting-wise, if you don’t understand something, a scene which is very difficult, the less you do in that scene, the better it is. That’s the way I work.

Your new style of working is to do only one movie at a time. Do you miss doing three to four shifts, like you used to?

Dekho, kitne bade tubelight hai humlog, when we used to work for 4-5 lakh, at that time, we used to do 15-16 films and now that prices have increased, we should be doing that right now. Instead, we are doing one film at a time. But the concentration on that one film is a lot more. At that time, we didn’t know only what scenes we were doing. Who the co-star was, kiske dates hai… all my life I have heard, ‘Light aarahi hai, light ja rahi hai, light aarahi hai.’

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Biwi No 1 and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai were shot at the same time. I used to shoot Hum Dil… from 6 am to 4-5 in the evening; then for Biwi No 1, I used to come to Mehboob Studios and shoot till about 12.30-1 am; and from 1 am to 6 am, I used to shoot for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Then I realised that yeh bahut hogaya. When I used to bend, I used to tear a tissue. But the kind of films I am doing right now are 10 times more painful. I have taken one more panga now. Tiger Zinda Hai, after that, there is the dance film with Remo (D’Souza). I thought it was a dance film, that I would have to do a little more than what we usually do. But when I saw the clips of these kids, and when I watch TV… I am, like, yeh karna padega mereko?!? It’s all different now, acrobatics and what not!

An exciting phase, nevertheless…

Yes, level bada rahe hai mediocrity ke upar. Jitna ho sakta hai. Like, I went for the Sunil Grover show recently and I felt so incompetent. That is altogether another level. He played the doctor first, then he came in as Mr Bachchan… Baap re, baap. Me and Sohail just stared at him. It was actually Mr Bachchan in front of us! And he was not doing mimicry; it was like Mr Bachchan in real life. I told Sohail, look at this level, it’s phenomenal.

When doing a film like this, do you miss doing films like Dabangg or Wanted? The audience is waiting for the Salman Khan who is mastikhor.

Yes, so Tiger Zinda Hai is coming up, the dance film is coming up, and Dabangg 3 is coming up.

Lastly, as an actor, do you have any insecurity at this point in life?

No, it’s just that with every successive film, you try to do a better job. For that, the only insecurity is that I hope the writers write better and better stuff. That’s the only thing.

BOI