As Sallu celebrates 25 years in the industry, here's looking at his trendsetting moments.
First day first show
Salman Khan debuted in Bollywood feet first, literally. The film was Biwi Ho To Aisi which released on August 22 1988. With Bonny Tyler's Holding Out For A Hero blasting in the background, his feet bound onto the screen, in an un-coordinated jig. We soon get our first glimpse of the would-be superstar. Before the bad reputation and the shaved chest, here is the actor as a floppy haired young man with no bulging biceps to boast of.
Dirty dancing
If Salman shakes his derriere, the rest of the world follows and the actor is to blame for all the pelvic thrusting we see on dance floors across the country. Be it the towel dance from Mujhse Shaadi Karoge or the choreography of Dabangg which uses a belt as a prop, the complete lack of finesse does not seem to deter Salman fans. The moves are then replicated everywhere, from reality TV to kinder garten talent contests
Hair-raising stuff
Salman's fans are a loyal bunch and they readily follow their idol into territories beyond good taste. A prime example is the infamous Tere Naam haircut. The actor played a man driven to madness by love and Salman's hair is testimony to the crazed state of the character's mind, gelled, long tresses parted in the middle. No one in his right mind would have emulated the look but millions of Sallu fans did and a trend was born.
Shirt off his back
The actor's hairy chest was splashed across the poster of the 1989 release Maine Pyaar Kiya, with Bhagyashree clinging to his knee. There began the macho posturing which has since become Salman's signature stance. It was after his 1988 hit Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya that his torso gained a fan following of its own. All and sundry have since joined the six-pack pack but no one does it better or more often than Salman, the original bare-chested hero.
Blue-eyed beauty
The Katrinas and the Aishwaryas may come and go, but a certain Feroza has stood by Salman through it all. The actor is rarely seen without his chunky bracelet with a blue stone and the accessory is now as much a part of Salman's pop culture oeuvre as his shiny, slippery chest. The bracelet is a Khan family tradition with Sallu's father Salim Khan too sporting one. The latest nod to Feroza came with Imran Khan sporting a similar one in OUATIMD.
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