After Salman left, some fans breached the barricades following which the police resorted to a lathi-charge.
IMAGE: Salman Khan greets fans on his 57th birthday from the balcony of his flat at Galaxy Apartments in Bandra, north west Mumbai. Photograph: PTI
Salman Khan turned 57 on Tuesday and his fans, it seemed, were in full party mode with hundreds of people gathering outside his Bandra home through the day, waiting patiently for their Bhaijaan’ to come out to acknowledge their greetings.
Around 6 pm, just before dusk set in, he obliged, stepping out in his balcony, folding his hands to say Namaste’, doing a Salaam’ and then waving much to the delight of the crowds, some who were carrying life-size cut-outs and others who breached barricades in their excitement.
IMAGE: A fan shows a tattoo of Salman on her chest. Photograph: PTI
The actor’s admirers started assembling outside Galaxy Apartments from early hours of the day and by evening the swelling crowd transformed into a sea of people waiting to catch a glimpse of the superstar.
Dressed in powder blue T-shirt and denims, Salman greeted an ecstatic crowd as he asked them to maintain order.
IMAGE: Salman’s father Salim Khan greets his son’s fans. Photograph: PTI
He was accompanied by his father, legendary screenwriter Salim Khan, who also waved at the public.
‘Thank you all,’ the superstar posted on Instagram alongside a photograph of him greeting the crowd.
IMAGE: Police lathi-charge fans gathered outside Salman’s building. Photograph: PTI
Fans, who welcomed their favourite star with loud cheers, carried his life-size cut-outs, while others held up ‘Happy Birthday’ posters. To add to the celebratory mood, they also released red-coloured balloons.
Police personnel were stationed outside the building for crowd control as fans waited behind the barricades. After the star left, some fans breached the barricades following which the police resorted to a lathi-charge.
Salman rang in his birthday with family and friends on Monday night at a party hosted by his sister Arpita Khan Sharma and brother-in-law Aayush Sharma at their residence in Khar, also north west Mumbai.
The couple had organised a combined celebration for their daughter Ayat Sharma, who turned three, and the Bollywood star.
The party was attended by Shah Rukh Khan, Tabu, Kartik Aaryan, Suniel Shetty, Pooja Hegde, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, Sangeeta Bijlani, Sonakshi Sinha, Sajid Nadiadwala and wife Warda Nadiadwala, Ramesh Taurani and Iulia Vantur.
The star-studded night was lit up by visuals of Karan Arjun co-stars Salman and Shah Rukh sharing a warm hug as SRK, who turned 57 on November 2, left the party in the early hours of Tuesday.
Family members, including Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan, Atul Agnihotri and Alvira Khan Agnihotri were present.
IMAGE: Salman cuts the cake with the media. Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar
Salman also celebrated his special day with the paparazzi stationed outside the party venue by cutting a cake.
On the work front, Salman will make a special appearance in Marathi film Ved, starring Riteish and Genelia. He will also make a cameo in Shah Rukh’s much-anticipated spy movie Pathaan, set to arrive in theatres on January 25.
Salman’s first major standalone release in over two years will be Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, scheduled to come out on Eid next year. He will follow it up with the third installment in his Tiger franchise slated to hit the cinemas on Diwali.
According to trade analyst Akshaye Rathi, industry insiders are hopeful both Tiger 3 and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan will give a much-needed boost to the Hindi film exhibition sector.
“I have a lot of confidence in Tiger 3. It’s an urban action film,” Rathi told PTI, adding that producers Yash Raj Films will do a “great job” with the franchise.
“Salman Khan on his day with the right kind of film is one of the biggest stars we have at the box office,” he said.
