Happy Birthday Salman Khan: Throwback to 8 of His Lesser Known Films

The release of every Salman Khan movie, irrespective of its story, genre, or director, is a big event at the box office. Even his worst-rated films manage to rake in big numbers. Take Race 3 for example – the film was panned by critics, but it features among the top grossers of 2018. Such is the power of Salman’s stardom.

Although, viewers haven’t always been so kind to the actor. After debuting as a hero with Maine Pyar Kiya, the actor starred in a slew of flops in the initial decade of his career, before hit films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun! and Karan Arjun came to his rescue.

As one of India’s biggest stars turns 53 today, we take a look at some of Salman’s forgotten films from the times when he wasn’t this force to reckon with in the industry. How many of these have you watched?

1. Kurbaan (May 1991): Released in 1991, the film falls in the classic genre of star crossed lovers getting caught amid a violent family feud. It had stalwarts Sunil Dutt and Kabir Bedi pitted against each other in the form of a dacoit and a top cop. Ayesha Jhulka made her Bollywood debut with this film.

2. Love (November 1991): This film, also Revathi’s Bollywood debut, might make for an endearing watch for some, with Sathiya Tune Kya Kiya being one of the popular romantic songs from the ’90s. But the films’ ‘rich girl falls in love with poor boy’ storyline didn’t find favour at the box office.

3. Suryavanshi (February 1992): This tale of reincarnation not only had an exaggerated plot, it is also credited with giving Salman one of his most bizarre looks in his career. In his Suryavanshi avatar, the actor is seen sporting armour and long blonde hair. His Tere Naam hairstyle has got nothing on this.

Read: Posters of Salman Khan's lesser known films

4. Ek Ladka Ek Ladki (June 1992): Long before Neelam Kothari played the ‘pyari behna’ to Salman Khan in Hum Saath Saath Hain, she starred as his love interest in this romantic comedy. She plays a woman who suffers from memory loss after an accident and Salman’s character pretends to be her husband to take revenge of a previous encounter between the two.

5. Jaagruti (July 1992): Despite the fresh pairing of Salman Khan and Karisma Kapoor, Jaagruti was a massive flop. The story of a village boy who finds his strength to avenge his brother’s death found no favours among the viewers.

6. Nischay (July 1992): Playing younger brother to Vinod Khanna in a story that was largely based on Khanna’s role did not help Salman’s career at a time when he was in need of a hit desperately. This second time pairing of Salman and Karisma did not work as well.

7. Chandra Mukhi (October 1993): This film, along with Chaand Kaa Tukdaa, created huge expectations as Salman Khan and Sridevi were paired together. The story idea of Chandra Mukhi was written by Salman Khan. Sridevi plays a princess of a heavenly kingdom, who comes to earth in search of her lost magical leaf and meets Salman’s character. This other-worldly plot could not work its magic at the box office either.

8. Dil Tera Aashiq (October 1993): This film released on the same day as Chandra Mukhi and met with a similar fate. It did have some funny moments, with Madhuri Dixit dressing up as an elderly woman caught in a love triangle between an old Anupam Kher and his young nephew played by Salman.