Simply Unparalleled: Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro

Pavan Malhotra, the name that many of us might not have heard yet. There are many such names like Makrand Deshpande, Ashutosh Gowariker, Rajendra Gupta, Neelima Azeem, Vikram Gokhale, Surekha Sikri, Nishigandha.

These are not the stars of Hindi cinema industry but these are the actors who truly know the art of expression. If you don't believe me then you should switch to parallel cinema - a cinema that represents a true picture of Indian society.

Salim Lande Pe Mat Ro is one such gem of parallel cinema of year 1989, directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, with Pavan Malhotra as lead. The film won the 37th National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1989 and 1990 National Film Award for Best Cinematography.

The film is depicts the period of the Hindutva mobilization of the 1980s, the consequent explosive communal conflict, and its impact on the lives of the young men of the minority Muslim community, represented by a working class Muslim family in Mumbai. Salim Pasha (Pavan Malhotra), a.k.a. Salim Landga is a small-time thief and goonda and lives with his parents and sister in a shady neighborhood where crime and illegal activities are accepted professions.

Fan: SRK proves why you should be his fan.

Every person is inspired by an icon or role model, whether in politics, economics or in entertainment domain. Some of them only follow such icons, others love their inspiration. But there evolved a new category of mass who revere their inspirations. At last there is another category of persons, who can prove to be a die-hard fan and if time comes they can prove to be deadly for their icon 

It is in the last category that we can classify Gaurav Chandna, I mean a fan of Aryan Khanna, a famous actor in Indian cinema industry. The most interesting thing is about what Chandna does to meet Khanna and what he does to realise what Khanna did wrong. The entire movie is centered at the grueling efforts by Chandna to meet him, rather hug him and more than that, it reveals how deadly a fan could be for a celebrity.

By the way, the Khanna and Chandna both are none other than SRK himself. And I bet, after watching the thrill-packed Fan, you will find the answer why SRK has a bigger fan following than his rivals. For me the reason is not Khanna but it is Chandna.

The movie is full of thrill and till the climax I found it hard to believe that SRK is both the celebrity and the fan. Not only the physical appearance but also the body language and tone of both the characters put you in suspense and compel us to ask "how the hell can he be both simultaneously?"

Truly this movie gives a wings of hope for SRK fans make them forgive and forget SRK of Dilwale (2015).