Is everything okay with Salman Khan?
First, there was the now-iconic “Sonam, it’s done bro” post. Then came Khan taking off his shirt on Bigg Boss 20 to respond to trolls commenting on his age and weight gain. And now, in the latest development in the ever-expanding Salman Khan Cinematic Universe, Bhai has launched his own YouTube channel.
The announcement came on 9 October, with the tagline “Shuru se shuru karte hain”. At this point, one cannot help but wonder if Khan has decided to give the internet a little more of himself. Or is he bored?
Khan has spent decades being one of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars, built a fan following and turned Bigg Boss into his personal weekend durbar. He can walk into a room, just raise his hand and probably get a bigger reaction than most actors. But lately, Bhai’s public persona has been giving us whiplash.
Khan seems to have done away with the need for a coherent promotional strategy altogether. One day, he is handing out life advice to protesters in the most Salman way possible. The next, he is addressing body-shaming trolls by making a rather emphatic point about his physique. And now, he wants us to subscribe to his YouTube channel.
There is nothing particularly unusual about a superstar wanting a direct connection with fans. Actors have podcasts, vlogs, production houses, clothing brands, fitness ventures and multiple side hustles. Yet Salman entering the YouTube game feels oddly entertaining.
Honestly, I would watch. Sign me up.
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Is this a reinvention?
What makes this run of appearances and announcements particularly amusing is the contrast. Salman is still Salman: a superstar with decades of stardom behind him, an enormous fan base and a public image that needs very little maintenance to remain relevant.
And yet, he seems to be experimenting with new ways of occupying our screens, timelines and collective attention spans.
Is it a reinvention? A new digital strategy? Simply a star trying something different? We do not know, and it would be unfair to diagnose a personal crisis from a series of public appearances.
So, Mr Khan, congratulations on the new channel. May the videos be entertaining, the thumbnails be dramatic and the subscribers be plentiful.
But before we go, one last question. Bhai, sab theek hai na, bro?