Bollywood bad boy Khan's unstoppable box office appeal

Mumbai : He's been accused of killing a homeless man, shooting dead an endangered animal and assaulting a former Miss World but it seems nothing can stop the box office appeal of Bollywood bad boy Salman Khan.

The Indian superstar's latest blockbuster smashed records this week, just over a fortnight after he sparked fresh controversy by saying his heavy training schedule for the film left him feeling "like a raped woman".

"Sultan", in which Khan plays an ageing wrestler, enjoyed the highest-grossing opening weekend in Hindi cinema history, proving that for his legions of fans the body-building actor can do no wrong.

"I watch every Salman film. I love him. He is the reason I am in this profession," Abhishek, a buff Mumbai fitness trainer, told AFP.

The actor known as "bhai", meaning "brother" in Hindi, enjoys a cult-like status in star-obsessed India, with the majority of his devotees young men who envy Khan for being unmarried at 50.

They are largely from Mumbai's mass of migrant workers who eke out a hardscrabble living in the sprawling financial capital but dream of a more glamorous life.

Invariably, they emulate his hairstyle and fashion, wearing pirated t-shirts emblazoned with Khan's charity "Being Human". At weekends they gather outside his home where Khan waves at fans from his balcony.

"He has always been the poster boy of a large section of the youth population," filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, who directed Khan in 2007 romantic drama "Salaam E Ishq", told AFP.

The majority are not on Twitter and are immune to social media outcries such as the one Khan sparked last month when his rape analogy made to a local news site went viral.

Khan has not apologised for the comments, as demanded by India's National Commission for Women, but his father Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan made an apology of sorts on his son's behalf.