SALMAN KHAN VS COVID-19
Machismo has a new avatar. Not only has Salman Khan’s team been depositing funds directly into the accounts of daily wage earners across different bodies, but his self-composed ditty, Pyar Karona, warns citizens of India that being afraid and isolated is absolutely on track for dealing with this pandemic
The seventh most handsome man in the world and undeniably India’s perennial powerhouse hero has conceded that this kind of enemy, you can’t just sock in the eye. You got to hide. Be cautious. Be logical. Be Scared. Machismo died with the Covid-19 virus’s infiltration into the bloodstream of India. And it is India that Salman seeks to save. The 54-year-old actor who was supposed to shoot for Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, has been self-isolating, ever since the lockdown was announced. Staying at his languid Panvel farmhouse, where, apart from his usual fitness routines, connecting with nature, hanging out with family – he has been writing songs and toying with creative ideas.
Pyar Karo Na, his current viral track, written and performed by him, is a clever pun on ‘corona’, and urges people: “Pyaar karona, madad karona, sabr rakhona: lines that express exactly what I feel we should be doing right now. We should actually go out of our way to help the poor and needy who are the most affected with this lockdown.
We also need to have patience and I’m sure we are all in this together and this shall pass, too,” says Salman, earnestly. This song was ‘born’ at his farmhouse, but it was then processed in Mumbai. “We shot it on a phone and the music video was completely in place. I have two more songs ready and they are to be launched soon,” he shares.
When one is as charismatic as a 100-crore-blockbuster star, it’s clear a video can do without cinematic direction, storyboarding, lighting. But even in its minimalism, it captures a Salman few have seen before: Unshaved, degummed, sweet-voiced, and a dash-bhakt. When one hears he sing, Saare Jahaan Se Achcha, one feels a deep sense of pain and irony at the religious divisive mood around us. Salman may be a Khan, but he is first and foremost the darling of a 1.3 billion strong nation.
Half Maharashtrian, half Pathan, he belongs as much in front of a Lalbagh Ganesha as he does in any Mecca. Equating the lockdown with a national mission, his lyrics go on to acknowledge the non-starry population who truly are heroic, be they doctors, nurses, the police, the army, the humble people in the essential good and services supply chain, store vendors and chemists.