C OVER STORY
his conversation skills.
9. For being the hopeless romantic who never gets the
girl... we won’t name them, they know who they are and
so do you... wink, wink!
10. For making world class beauties fall in love with him
time after time. They say unicorns attract virgins and
perhaps the reverse could also be true
11. For believing in religious harmony wholeheartedly.
Eid and Ganpati are celebrated with equal joy and vigour
in his household. He’s the best example of secularism.
12. For his ‘tomorrow is another day’ attitude. Come
rain, hail or sunshine, Bhai doesn’t give a damn.
13. For making us forgive his every indiscretion.
14. For gifting a flat in Bandra even to his bodyguard.
Who does that?
15. For generating more fans with every controversy.
16. For his large heartedness towards his family. The
super successful, the super rich star launched them in
showbiz as well.
17. “Dosti ki hai, nibhani to padegi hi... the line from
Maine Pyar Kiya has become the anthem for a plethora
of filmmakers.
18. For actually believing in the above line in real life.
The amount of films Bhai has done for friendship’s sake
defies logic.
19. For those brooding almond eyes, which makes girls
from 8 to 80 go weak in the knees.
20. For bringing caps back in demand. The ‘Friends’ emblazoned cap is a collector’s item today.
21. For doing the same with bracelets. Every wannashine sports a thick silver bracelet with a faux turquoise. In
fact, peddlers have made a fortune selling those.
22. For bringing caps back in demand. The 'Friends' emblazoned cap is a collector's item today.
23. For introducing new heroines and nurturing their
careers. Bhai has been a lodestone for scores of fresh
faces, his good luck charm turning them into stars.
24. For not playing the broad Punjabi stereotype in every film.
25. For not playing the broad Muslim archetype ever.
26. For his diehard popularity with children.
27. For launching a cottage industry of South remakes.
28. For those super easy dance moves that anyone can
follow.
29. For treating his co-stars and crew with huge homemade tiffins.
30. For his various charities, both known and unknown.
31. For publicly accepting he’s a lazy actor.
32. For never dishing out the dirt on any of his exes to
the press.
33. For his music sense, which helps him play Godfather
to new composers.
34. For getting the moustache back in vogue.
35. For being the unofficial brand ambassador for urban
cycling.
36. For turning his hand at painting and being impressive at it.
37. For remaining starry-eyed in front of yesteryear
stars.
38. For his inspired cameo in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai despite his superstardom.
39. For not taking to politics despite his huge fan base.
40. For his clueless act in Andaz Apna Apna. It wouldn’t
be such a cult classic minus his ‘goofy’ talent.
41. For his quicksilver energy in his TV shows.
42. For having one of the coolest farmhouses in Panvel,
complete with dirt tracks and 4X4 dirt bikes and dune
buggies.
43. For saying all those bombastic dialogue with aplomb.
44. For the ability to make digs at himself, both on screen
and off it.
45. For being a photographer’s delight and looking good
in every camera angle.
46. For putting his heart and soul in the songs he’s sung,
never mind if he’s off key
47. For making obscure titles work big time. Like, what
does Prem Ratan Dhan Payo even mean?
48. For always letting his heart rule his head.
49. For making 50 look 30.
50. For being human despite being a superstar...
29 | BOOM