Why Salman is...

Rich, famous, handsome and controversy's favourite child – Salman Khan has, since his debut in Phool Aur Kaante, captured a nation's heart. But what is truly amazing is that despite more scandals than you can shake a stick at, advancing age and receding hairline, Salman continues to be India's darling. While Shah Rukh is admired and Aamir is revered, Salman is the most loved Khan of all times. Masala! finds out why this Khan has the biggest fan following...

He's generous
Be it his penchant for gifting his in-demand paintings or designer timepieces to his friends and co-stars, or his act of giving money to beggars (no, we are not talking about a few rupees, but a whole 25,000 to ONE person!), Salman has always given of himself to people who touch his heart. Not satisfied, he even started his charity Being Human to be able to reach out to a larger number of needy people.
Some of the gifts given by Salman to his B'wood brethren:
h Painting to Aamir
h Three paintings to Sridevi
h Watch to Aseem Merchant (his Wanted co-star)
h Rolex to Abhishek Bachchan before Dhoom 2
h Watch to Ranbir Kapoor (to make-up for a scrap they had had ages ago)
h Two Rolex watches to Zayed during the Rockstars tour
h Watch to Farah Khan before Main Hoon Na
h Watch to Shah Rukh Khan during the making of Karan Arjun
h And apparently, a Mercedes Benz to Govinda!

He's not perfect
He doesn't lead the ideal life and this makes him more real and, in a way, more accessible, to his fans. His faults are larger than life – be it his moody nature, his arrogance or his legal problems (for drunk driving or the black buck hunting case). In his own brash way he has admitted to his guilt in the hunting case. These offences, if proved, are punishable and rightly so, but one can't ignore the fact that the janta like their heroes to be real and not infallible. It was the same with Sanjay Dutt.

He'll never kiss and tell
He has a pretty impressive record – Sangeeta Bijlani, Somi Ali, Aishwarya Rai and Katrina Kaif – as far as girlfriends go. And with the exception of Ash, all are on pretty good terms with him. But no matter how public or ugly the relationship or the break-up became, he never spoke about the ladies in public. The only time he did talk to the media in terms of his break-up was when Vivek Oberoi ranted against him at a press conference. Even now when everyone is wondering about whether Katrina and he are together or not, Salman himself has never spoken out about it.

He's always genuine
It all comes down to the intuition we have to be able to sense when someone is being genuine or otherwise. When Salman is interacting with his fans – be it for a film's promotion or for the video of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara – the eye contact and the smile is genuine and people respond to that. It also doesn't hurt that he loves to get away from his entourage and jump into an auto-rickshaw and take a ride.

He's emotional
This man wears his heart on his sleeves. His likes and dislikes are out there and while he is devoted to his family (the world got a glimpse of it in Farah Khan's show Tere Mere Beach Mein in which he appeared with his mother Salma Khan), he is also a loyal friend. Just one stipulation – you will need to put up with his moody outbursts. He was among the few who stood by Aman Verma when he was caught in the 'casting couch sting operation' controversy. He also stepped forward to promote blind actor Naseer Khan's film Shadow, despite not knowing him very well. His enmities too are played to the gallery. His public spats with Subhash Ghai (with whom he later made up), John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi and, most famously, SRK, are now legendary. A savvier man would have, in most cases, kept his head cool and his dislikes secret. But that is not Salman's style. If he doesn't like you, you will know it.