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Eid normally translates into heaving crowds and heavy security arrangements at Galaxy Apartments where fans, friends and fawning, favour-seeking visitors throng Salman Khan’s house every year.
This year, forget celebrations, Galaxy was so forlorn that there was no police bandobast at the gate and only a handful of people sat with Salman’s parents, Salim and Salma Khan. Salma was friendly as always as she helped fastidious daughter Arpita with her elaborate preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi. The Khans always bring home a Ganpati and Arpita, who visits Siddhi Vinayak temple every Tuesday, is the one who fusses over the decorations and the modaks. Mom Salma indulged her tantrums (Arpita wouldn’t approve of the modaks and ordered a fresh batch from elsewhere) while a family friend sighed, “Every year we go through this nightmare of getting things done until Arpita is pleased.”
While all this went on around him, handsome, pink-cheeked Salim Khan looked withdrawn and faraway. In all these decades, he’s never looked as tense as he did on Eid evening, but he had reason to worry. Salman’s surgery was still going on in the US.
“The doctors kept him there for barely half a day and decided on instant surgery,” Salma explained. “They’d already studied his case, all the papers had gone to them earlier. So they’re operating on him right away. There’s still an hour to go for the surgery to be completed, we’re waiting for the phone call.” Salim himself barely spoke.
Next morning, a different Salim chirped, “The surgery was successful, Salman spoke to me last night!” The relieved dad went on, “Salman told me that everything went off well and the doctors are happy with the surgery.”
Salim could now talk about the tension he underwent while his eldest son was on the operating table. “I was so worried that for the first time I broke out into a rash all over my face!” While everybody knew that Salman would come out of it, there was just that slim chance where things could go wrong and that was what was worrying the actor’s father. “I myself went through what was a simple operation for my tooth a couple of years ago,” Salim reasoned. “It was a minor procedure which went wrong and ultimately kept me at death’s door for six months. So I knew that while Salman was in good hands, sometimes an operation can also go horribly wrong. And that worried me.”
With that big worry behind them, the Khans got into celebratory mode with a colourful Ganpati and several visitors over the next two days.
Meanwhile, Salman has his two brothers, Arbaaz and Sohail, and sis Alvira by his side. He also has Reshma Shetty, his business manager who flew down with him to take care of all his medical and professional schedules. Salim Khan has smartly advised Reshma to ensure that if the doctors want Salman to rest for two days, she should insist on four and keep him in hospital for a longer period. “Because once he’s out of hospital, I know Salman, he won’t rest — he’ll fly out immediately and start his routine again. After the six-hour long surgery, his body is still tender and needs rest.” So Reshma has her work cut out for her — get the star on his feet but keep him rested till it’s time to check on the Bodyguard collections and report for the shoot of Yashraj’s Ek Tha Tiger in UK.
There seems to be a pattern here with a star peaking and falling ill. At the height of his stardom, Shah Rukh Khan underwent crucial spinal surgery and turned completely religious after recovery. Hrithik’s knees gave way after his super successes (Dhoom:2, Krrish) and he became utterly philosophical. It’s now Salman Khan’s turn to see heady success (Wanted, Dabangg, Ready), fall seriously ill and go under the knife. It has already transformed him. Although a huge believer in the power above, Salman was never one for regular prayer or fasting. But this year, he abstained from alcohol all through Ramadan which is a sign of changing times.
There is certainly a power above that takes care of Salman every time he is faced with a problem. It has come to his aid this time too. On the career front, it was propitious for Bodyguard that Anna called off his fast last week because Salman’s illness (which is keeping him in the spotlight) and his new release, would’ve got buried under the Hazare juggernaut. Fortuitous timing for Salman since, at the end of the day, Bodyguard may have commercial value (because of the whopping opening collections) but with no commendable content, a dip in the graph is inevitable.