Pakistani actor Sikandar makes money off Salman's popularity...
The Parody King
Pakistani actor Sikandar Sanam has turned spoofs of Salman Khan's movies into a profitable venture in his country
Finding a die-hard Salman Khan fan — who can ape every move of the actor — is not a big deal. But coming across someone who makes a living off Salman's popularity certainly is. Meet Sikandar Sanam, an old hand at parody, who has made spoofs of all of Salman's last few releases — including Wanted, Dabangg and Bodyguard. This Pakistani theatre and film actor is currently waiting for the release of Ek Tha Tiger to start work on it. "In Pakistan, Salman Khan is the most popular actor. Every film of his works here, especially because of the action and comedy involved," says
Sikandar, in a telephonic interview from Karachi.
A self-confessed Salman fan, Sikandar's biggest dream in life is to meet his hero. "When I come to Mumbai, please help me meet Salman," he says. Following assurance of help, he sounds thrilled. Ironically, Sikandar is unlike Salman in many ways. While Salman is brawny, Sikandar is skinny. Though he may slip into the popular actor's shoes every now and then, he claims that he does so only to evoke laughs. "I do not imitate Salman, I only pick his style and add my own humour to it," he says. Take for instance, the famous scene from Tere Naam where Salman is brutally hit by the villain with an iron rod and he gets critically injured. In the spoof, Sikandar gets hurt after being hit by balloons. "It is the comedy that people relate to the most," says the actor.
Initially, Sikandar earned his living doing plays and performing to songs. He first slipped into a Salman character in 2003 when he donned the Indian superstar's Tere Naam get-up for a stage show in Karachi on Eid. "The standing ovation I received for that act made me realise that there is a vast market for Bollywood-inspired comedy in Pakistan," says Sikandar. Soon, he penned the script for Tere Naam's parody and made a film called Tere Naam 2. "This changed the course of my career," he recalls.
The success of Tere Naam 2, made sure that the spoofster along with his director Kamran Khan produced a number of remakes of Salman's films plus other popular Bollywood blockbusters such as Munnabhai MBBS, Ghajini, Sholay, Muqaddar Ka Sikander and even Sylvester Stallone's Rambo. At present, he is working on Hrithik Roshan-starrer Agneepath, which did good business in Pakistan. "Here, success is the major criteria for any movie to be made into a spoof," he says. However, the actor-writer-producer does not prefer Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar's films for parodies. "Shah Rukh's movies dwell on romance and Akshay makes use of high-tech action, which doesn't work," he adds.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
1