New Delhi: It isn't a hidden fact that many in the Hindi film industry owe their careers to Salman Khan. The superstar who is known for his generosity has been the mentor to a lot of actors, music directors and directors.
The actor is seeing busy days ahead of the release of ‘Hero'. Hitting theatres this Friday, Salman is co-producing the movie which marks the debut of star kids Athiya Shetty and Sooraj Pancholi. And we notice Salman referring to them as his ‘children' quite a number of times. Incidentally, this isn't the first time when he held someone's hand and showed them the Bollywood path.
Maybe it is the star power that comes with him or maybe he just notices the talent; Salman Khan's ‘godchildren' are known to see a shining life. We bring to you a list of 5 actors who were nowhere to be noticed in the film industry if Salman wouldn't have mentored them.
Katrina Kaif
The British Indian model who is the most sought after actress today, wasn't such a loved one when she started off. Courtesy, Salman Khan changed days for her. Her debut movie ‘Boom' failed miserably at the box office. It was when Salman laid his eyes on her.
They dated for a while too and after that only Katrina was noticed in the industry. After her first outing ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya' with Salman Khan she went on to bag many big movies. Well, Katrina Kaif owes her success to Salman Khan.
Arjun Kapoor
Actor Arjun Kapoor was this fat son of producer Boney Kapoor who never wanted to be an actor. It was Salman who asked him to be one. Not only did he see potential in this youngster, he helped him shed weight too. Reportedly, Arjun trained himself in Salman's guidance in his gym which was filled with state-of-art facilities.
In an interview, Arjun accepted it too. "Salman bhai has been training me for a while now. I've lost 18 kilos but I'm not taking it easy. I've yet to achieve my best shape," he said.
While Arjun is a huge name today, he doesn't stop from being grateful to Salman. On more than one occasions he has said Salman made his existence larger than life.
Jacqueline Fernandez
Though the Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez was not launched in the industry by Salman, the projectile of her career saw a high only after ‘Kick'. For this Kabir Khan flick, Jacqueline shed her glam avatar and no one other than Salman gave her valuable inputs.
"Besides entertaining us, Salman would give me amazing inputs between the shots. His funny lines would do the trick. He wouldn't just work for himself; he would help me out saying, 'Ok, now try this out'. He need not do so, but that is the way he is," she said at an interview.
Pulkit Samrat
Another newbie who was mentored by Salman is actor Pulkit Samrat. Pulkit's journey from being a television actor to the vivacious actor was possible only because of Salman.
He is married to Salman's rakhi sister Shweta Rohira and Salman did the kanyadaan too. During one of his interviews when he was asked about Salman's role in his career Pulkit had said, "He (Salman) is my mentor. If he likes someone he goes all out his way to support that person. He is a man with a heart of gold...always supportive. I am blessed to have his support."
Sonakshi Sinha
Sonakshi Sinha who has become the talk of the town for her don't-give-a-damn attitude has maybe learnt these traits from Salman Khan. Sonakshi's big Bollywood break was with the five year old release Dabanng. Salman has served as a big inspiration for her especially when she decided to lose her weight. After she came under Salamn's wing, Sonakshi lost some 16 kgs. If that wasn't enough, she surprised him even more with her look.
Salman noticed her change and commented, “Somewhere around my birthday, when I saw Sona, I realised that she had suddenly made up her mind to knock-off those additional kilos. And boy oh boy, she has done it. She's a pretty girl and a knockout actress. If she keeps her weight in check, there's no stopping her.”
Guess, whatever Salman's opinions were about these actors came true as they are doing quite well in their careers. With a history of promoting fresh talent who don't let him down, the pressure on Athiya and Sooraj is immense. This Friday, audiences will search the spark that made them noticeable in Salman's eyes.
