Five reasons why #SalmanKhan as #BajrangiBhaijaan is a sure shot hit

Salman saves a kid: The last time he did so in a film, which happened to be last year’s Kick, it went on to do a business of Rs 230-crore plus, which makes it the second-highest grosser of all time after PK. The film’s trailer and storyline suggest that it is six-year-old Harshali Malhotra, and not Kareena Kapoor, who will have more screen time with Salman. She is the speech-impaired Pakistani kid, Munni, who needs Salman’s brawn and escaping abilities to cross the border and return home. A cute kid in jeopardy has a tear-jerker written all over it. Add Salman and you have plenty of action and "dialogue-baazi", and with Nawazuddin Siddiqui you are guaranteed a good performance.

Salman as a good samaritan: If you look at Salman’s filmography over the last couple of years (Dabangg 2, Jai Ho, Kick), you can sense he is on a "Swachh Salman Abhiyan". It is needed too, given that he is stuck with two court cases which have the potential to derail his career (and those of the producers too). In the Mumbai sessions court, after Salman was adjudged guilty in the hit-and-run case, his lawyer asked for a lesser sentence on the grounds that the actor had done a lot of charitable work with his organisation Being Human. But there’s also the countless good guys he is playing on screen. In fact Salman’s next film will see him play Prem, the epitome of goodness in Bollywood, in Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo. That’s coming in the Diwali season.

Salman teams up with Kabir Khan: The last time the two collaborated we got an India-Pakistan secret agent romance in Ek Tha Tiger which was the actor’s biggest hit with Rs 190 crore plus, until Kick happened. Like that film, Bajrangi Bhaijaan also is centred on the hostile relations between India and Pakistan. While Ek Tha Tiger dealt with how love crosses all boundaries, Bajrangi Bhaijaan puts the spotlight on a child’s innocence and the importance of humanity. But unlike Ek Tha Tiger, the setting is local, which makes it Kabir Khan’s first film shot entirely in India. Given the festive release slot and the fact that this is the first release featuring a member of the SuperKhan Troika, expectations are sky-high.

Salman with Nawazuddin Siddiqui: It’s a rarity that you root for the villain in a film which has Salman has the hero. But that’s the talent of Nawazuddin Siddqui, who stole the show and brought some much-needed comic relief as a baddie with a loony laugh in Kick. So electric was Siddiqui in his limited screen time that when his character is electrocuted to death, we shed a tear. In Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Salman and Siddqui aren’t foes but two men with a common mission: help Munni reach home. In an interview to India Today, director Kabir Khan called Siddiqui “outstanding” in his supporting part as a Pakistani reporter, adding that “you’ll walk away from the movie with Salman and Nawaz” on your mind. Noted.

In case you missed it, it has SALMAN: So is there really even a doubt? As Kabir Khan told India Today in an interview, “I often tell him [Salman] that if we film you sleeping on a bench, it will make Rs 80 to 90 crore before people will say, "Arre Bhai toh utha hi nahi hai [Oh Bhai hasn’t woken up.] He is at that level of stardom". Case closed.