A phenomenon called Salman Khan

News channels, social media or any random conversation, everyone’s just talking about Salman Khan’s verdict today. The sentence has surely disheartened millions of his fans. Let’s take a look at 20 career highlights of the Bhai, Salman Khan.

1.     The smashing debut
He played the agile devar to Rekha in the 1988 film Biwi Ho To Aisi. However it was Sooraj Barjatya in 1989 who gave him his big break in Maine Pyaar Kiya. Soon girls got their new poster boy, who bared his chest and believed 'dosti mein no sorry, no thank you'.

2. The eternal Prem
It didn’t stop at Maine Pyaar Kiya. Sooraj Barjatya got him back as Prem in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! The film went down in history as a blockbuster not only in India but worldwide. And Salman Khan was truly the eternal Prem. He went ahead to play Prem in Hum Saath-Saath Hain and he was currently shooting for Sooraj’s next Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo.

3. Dare to bare
Much before six-pack abs came in and when all other actors shied away from showing their torso, Salman Khan was ever-ready to go shirtless. In 1998 his film Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya had him removing his shirt and dancing to the song, O O Jaane Jaana. The song became sensational thanks to his dare to bare act. After this, it almost became a signature move to see him shirtless in all of his movies.

4. Black buck controversy
It was 1998 when Salman was ‘shooting’ for Hum Saath-Saath Hain. Salman Khan and four other actors went for hunting and shot a black buck. The Rajasthan High Court levied charges against the actor and his colleagues against harming wild animals and endangering wildlife. The case is still pending as the actor has pleaded innocence and alleged he was framed by the forest officials.

5. Aishwarya Rai and the aftermath
Salman Khan’s love affair with Aishwarya Rai became the talk of the town. Love blossomed on the set of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1999. However, the love story ended on a sour note. Things turned ugly when Aishwarya started dating Vivek Oberoi. Salman called up Vivek Oberoi and threatened him to stay away from Ash. Vivek went ahead and made the conversation public.

6. The hit and run case
In 2002, on an unfortunate night, Salman Khan rammed into a bakery in Bandra, killing one and injuring four others who were sleeping on the footpath. The case went on for 13 years where the actor was brought to the court several times.

7. Tere Naam – the cult
Satish Kaushik’s Tere Naam (2003) was a superhit. Apparently, it’s said that the actor drew inspiration from his own tragic love story with Aishwarya Rai. Tere Naam also has a cult following for the actor's haircut in the film. In fact, even today you can spot his fans with a 'Tere Naam' hair-do.

8. Mentor to Katrina Kaif
Salman’s personal life has always been under the scanner. He has played mentor to various actors and made them superstars and one of them was Katrina Kaif. Katrina first starred in Boom, which was a complete washout at the box-office. But soon, Kat got a mentor in Salman Khan. The two starred in David Dhawan’s Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya in 2005. Love blossomed between them and soon there were reports that they might get married. However this love saga too came to an end.

9. The SRK-Salman fight
Two of the biggest superstars of our times, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan had an ugly physical fight on July 16th, 2008 at Katrina Kaif’s birthday bash. They never revealed what triggered the fight and a cold war started between the two Khans.

10. Dus Ka Dum
In 2008, Salman Khan made his debut as a host in the show Dus Ka Dum. The show got the highest TRPs amongst the quiz shows and Salman’s charm and witty comments kept the audiences entertained.

11. Dabangg franchise success
Until 2010, Salman Khan was known as Prem but in 2010 he got another name attached to him - Dabangg Khan. Dabangg met phenomenal success at the box-office and gave Salman Khan his most memorable character – Chulbul Pandey. His cop-act was so famous that a series of Bollywood films tried to replicate the success with a cop story. Dabangg even had a sequel in 2012, which was an even bigger success.

12. Bigg Boss host
Television’s most popular reality show – Bigg Boss got its ratings soaring courtesy Salman Khan, who began hosting the show in 2010. The actor has hosted four seasons of Bigg Boss, including the latest one. Salman Khan is the most loved host and the viewers don’t see anyone else replacing him in the show.

13. Midas touch
After Dabangg, Salman Khan’s popularity reached new heights. His films were not only blockbusters but broke records at the box-office. Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Dabangg 2, Jai Ho and Kick, each of these films proved that Salman Khan is India’s biggest superstar.

14. Being Human
Salman Khan having a golden heart is not an unknown fact. As an extension to his charity project, his apparel brand Being Human is one of the famous brands in India. The sales made by the brand are largely given in donations through his charity venture and the many other causes he supports.

15. The mentor
Salman Khan has shaped several careers. He has made superstars and seen to it that his favourite actors make it big in the films. Sonakshi Sinha, Arjun Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Zarine Khan...the list just goes on. He has even produced the remake of Hero to promote the two new talents – Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty.

16. I’m a virgin
Salman Khan finally made it to the couch for Karan Johar’s chat show - Koffee With Karan in 2014. The actor was seen at his candid best and answering all the rapid fire questions with aplomb. However, when he was quizzed about his affairs, Salman made a statement that he’s a virgin. Enough said.

17. The Artist
Salman Khan loves painting. He has painted on several occasions and it’s even said that he specially paints and gifts the pieces to his close friends. In 2014, he painted the poster of his film Jai Ho.

18. Cult of Bhaijaan

Whatever Salman Khan does becomes a fad. The actor who’s not so good with his dance makes sure that he has a signature step in each of his film. Whether it is doing the belt move for Dabangg song or the hands in the pocket action for Dhinka Chika song, his dance moves are surely quirky. The actor even turned singer last year for his film Kick where he sang the song Hangover.

20. Salman Verdict
Salman Khan has been sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment as he’s been found guilty in the hit and run case in 2002. The verdict surely came as bad news for his fans and we’ll definitely miss him.