B'day Special: Why Salman Khan should be thankful to 2015, the 50th year of his life

New Delhi: Salman Khan is undisputedly Bollywood's one of the biggest box office draws. He has reinvented himself from being a scrawny son of a popular screenwriter Salim Khan to the ‘Bhaijaan' who is adored by his fans with unbelievable affection. Sallu baba's  journey from controversy's favourite child to  the most in-demand actor of B-town, speaks volumes of his never-say-die spirit in  changing the course of adversarial tides.

He burst onto the movie scene in the 1980s with good looks of a ‘chocolaty boy'  exhibiting the potential to become a top-class ‘matinee idol'. After creating a sensation with ‘lover boy' image, he  successfully positioned himself  as a hunky major action star as well.

Interestingly, he is still a bachelor but his innocent smile makes women weak in their knees.

The superstar, whose mere presence can send fans into frenzy, turns 50 today. As the year wraps up its last lap, Salman has more than one reason to be thankful for this year.

On his birthday eve, we list 5 reasons why Salman's 50th birthday is more special and celebratory for him.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan:

Salman ‘Bhai', as his fans call him, gave an embodiment to this love with his character Pavan Kumar Chaturvedi of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan'. A heartfelt story which narrated a common man's plight in reuniting a mute Pakistani girl with her family, struck a chord with viewers. Breaking the monotony which surrounded his earlier roles of either a cop or a detective; Salman won hearts not by breaking bones but by telling that Indo-Pak relations could be sweeter. Probably, with his career best performance, the film performed exceptionally well at the box office raking almost Rs 600 crores at the box office globally.  

Karan Arjun again:

Salman Khan and his contemporary Shah Rukh Khan have a lot in common; they share Pathan lineage, have fans spanned globally and have given Bollywood some of its highest grossing movies. They had extreme affection towards each other till things took an ugly turn at Katrina Kaif's 2008 birthday party. Gladly, for all the fans of Karan Arjun, they buried the hatchet and are back to being friends again. Their bhai-chaara rocked Twitter and they visited each other a lot lately. This bromance is definitely one of the reasons why Salman's 50th birthday is extra special.

Also Read: 'Bhaijaan' turns 50: Watch how a fan summed up Salman Khan's life in 200 seconds

The return of Prem:

After teaching villains life lessons by breaking their bones, this year saw Salman Khan in his most loved character, Prem. As he reunited with filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya after 16 years, he taught family values to India. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, turned out to be a blockbuster while Salman as Prem and Yuvraj Vijay Singh left everyone in happy tears after the movie. It earned about Rs 400 crore globally, making it the second blockbuster of Salman in a single year.

No more nightmares of 2002 hit and run case:

Being the only actor whose movies crossed the mark of Rs 500 crores this year, the box-office success would not have made Salman elated as much as the acquittal from the 2002 hit and run case. 13 years ago, Salman's land cruiser rammed into a Bandra bakery during wee hours, killing one and injuring four others homeless. The case had been haunting the Khan family for all this while as Salman was being charged with culpable homicide. A verdict from the Bombay HC acquitted him from all the charges, giving him much-needed relief. If nothing, he will definitely be thankful for this one.

Love, beyond boundaries:

The Dabangg dude enjoys the stardom which is rare. To call him beloved would be undermining his existence, the word revered fits better. The enigma which surrounds him is intriguing to Bollywood itself, which is why he has ardent fans within the industry too. There is not a single star of the shining tinsel town's sky who doesn't adore him. Salman has always maintained that he thanks them whole heartedly, but with such an amazing year; he has to be more grateful to each one of them.