The mad popularity of Salman Khan is evident from the craze about his every release, and the huge number of fans who throng the first show of his every film. Talk to them about scripts, cinematography, a social message, and you lose them then and there. Some even talk back about the colours in the movie, funny crazy Salman moments, songs and Salman dances.

Rakhi, a die-hard fan of Salman from the time he had long hair and was quite thin, says, “Salman bares his body on stage and rides a bike, people want to do the same. He wears a bracelet and the next thing you know, everyone is sporting the green stone thing; he puts his aviator shades at the back, then everyone else also does it. You know why that happens? Coz he is a trend setter. While every other actor follows, he leads and it is only he who can get away with anything.”

This citizen journalist doesn't see God in him, I try to understand the euphoria around this man. He is known as the bad boy of Bollywood, has been implicated by more than one actress of physically abusing them, has been to jail and yet he comes off as a hero? My own sister, who has forbidden me to take her name says, "So he is flawed. That doesn't mean he is a bad person. You are taking all the negatives. Look at 'Being Human', people who swear by his goodness and largeness of heart. Atleast for me, it makes him attractive and so much more than just a reel figure.”

Ashim Sunam gives a candid answer when I ask him about how Salman manages to pull it off each time, “Aamir is an urban star. He does movies that are intelligent yet sensitive but Salman is a rural star. He does movies, which connect at the grassroot level. His dance style, the clothes he wears in the movies (remember the yellow trouser and the vest in Hello Brother), the people that his films talk about, is so Indian that more and more rural people want to watch him and dance to his Dinka Chika songs.”

Ek Tha Tiger did not get good reviews from critics but we cannot ignore the film's great opening at the box office, and still counting. Magic or not, Salman Khan is surely making the best of the moment.