Post-Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Salman Khan’s popularity has reached new heights. The 49-yearold actor is returning to the Bigg Boss stage, but that’s not all. Salman has reunited with Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun director Sooraj Barjatya after sixteen years for the film Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, in which he stars opposite Sonam Kapoor. The actor, along with the film’s illustrious cast that also includes Anupem Kher and Neil Nitin Mukesh, launched the film’s official trailer and used the occasion to speak about issues close to his heart. The upcoming family drama, in which Salman Khan will once again play the role of Prem, was shot at a time when Salman Khan’s personal life was in turmoil. The actor was convicted of five years in jail for a hit-and-run case but the sentence was later suspended. But all those troubles didn’t stop the actor from making box office history with Bajrangi Bhaijaan. According to the Indian Express, when a reporter at the PRDP trailer launch asked the actor about facing tough times, Salman reportedly replied, “Whenever I go through a difficult time in my life, my work in films becomes much better. So remember that, and please don’t let those difficult times hamper the release of my film, because we have worked a lot for this film in that difficult time. I am still going through it and will keep on going through it. That’s my share of karma.” If Prem Ratan Dhan Payo will see Salman Khan in all his colourful glory, his next after PRDP – Sultan - will be radically different from anything he’s done in recent years. In a recent interview with IANS, the superstar revealed that for Sultan, he will double in size. “Audiences will see me in double size. My training for Sultan has started; so I need to get bigger and fitter for the role.” Sultan is being directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, who also directed Ali Zafar in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan alongside Bollywood A-listers Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif. While audiences wait for Salman’s double-sized trouble in Sultan, they can get their SK doze from Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. But the actor is not banking on his future projects. “If it has to work it will work and if it doesn’t have to work, it will not. Our job is to do our best, our job is to work, publicise it as much as we can, and hope fans really enjoy the film. After that, it is up to the fans that they go and watch it and like it or not,” Salman told IANS. As for his television stint in Bigg Boss, the actor maintains he doesn’t know too much about the contestants until the show actually begins. “The surprising thing is that I also get to know that they are entering the house on the spot only.” prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Matt Damon returns to the spotlight with the Martian
There are few actors as versatile as Matt Damon. As amnesiac Jason Bourne, he conveyed several emotions without speaking too much across the three Bourne films. He was absolutely brilliant in The Informant and was the surprise package in Chris Nolan’s space film, Interstellar. And it seems his love affair with space isn’t over just yet. Matt Damon alongside Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Donald Glover, Kristen Wiig, Sebastian Stan and Sean Bean is currently in the spotlight with the new Ridley Scott film, The Martian. In the new film, he stars as astronaut Mark Watney who is stranded on Mars in the wake of a manned mission to the planet and has to survive with meager resources. Not surprisingly, the film has opened to rare reviews and Matt’s performance is being hailed as one worthy of an Oscar nomination. “It’s a big Hollywood movie that’s not a superhero movie or a franchise movie. It’s just a good old fashioned movie,” said Matt Damon as to why he signed on for the film.Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the actor is back on the sets of the fifth Bourne film and yes, he is playing the role of Jason Bourne. Speaking of his alterego of Jason, the actor told THR: “I love this character. He’s so smart and resourceful and easy to root for. I always wanted to play him again.” The actor is also working with Oscar nominee Alexander Payne in a film called Downsizing and is co-producing a few projects with Good Will Hunting buddy Ben Affleck including a biopic on Robert Robert F. Kennedy biopic.