Those who wrote off Salman Khan's film Garv had better sit up and rub their eyes. The film is doing exceedingly well, both in Mumbai and other parts of the country.
The man most happy with the results is producer Sunil Mehta. "Garv will consolidate our position as a banner (Cinevista) and as producers.
It's a plus film for every distributor in Mumbai and all over India people can expect an overflow in the coming two to six weeks. The masses have loved the film." A fact corroborated by film analyst Taran Adarsh.
"Garv never aimed to be a multiplex, high-funda film aimed at the gentry. Garv is a masala film and is doing excellent business at the single-screen theatres and interiors," says Adarsh.
Mehta adds with a beaming smile, "Salman's the leading man of the nation. Garv is doing even better business than Shah Rukh's Main Hoon Naa in the B and C centres."
Sallu fans, it seems, just can't get enough of the hunk.

The latest buzz is that Salman and director David Dhawan sat on the editing table and re-edited portions of GARV after its release. True?
"Utter nonsense," GARV director Puneet Issar fumes, "Why should Salman or David re-edit my film? Yes, Salman did suggest some trimming, but so did a few others who viewed the film prior to its release. We agreed to certain ideas and deleted those portions voluntarily. But David wasn't involved at all. Please don't drag him into all this."
Puneet continues in the same breath, "The least the media could do was to crosscheck before printing malicious and damaging stuff. It clearly shows that they are short on ideas, therefore they are resorting to stories that are a figment of their wild and wanton imagination."

Most of us are aware that there is a writer hidden in Salman Khan, but his editing talent came to the fore recently. The actor, after watching his film Garv - in which he plays an honest police officer who is forced to kill about 10 people who have gang-raped his sister - came out of the theatre and immediately headed to the editing studio and cut about 40 minutes of the film. 
Salman had one of his closest friends David Dhawan for company. Said a unit member, "The two of them got up after watching the movie and went straight to the editing studio. Since Dhawan is one of the best editors in the film industry, he actually edited portions, which Salman didn't want as part of the film." When asked about his contribution as an editor to the film Garv, Dhawan denied it saying he did not edit but had offered Salman some suggestions. "Those were the parts eventually edited from the film," he said.

Despite the bumper opening and subsequent failure of 'Garv', we hear that Salman Khan has agreed to feature in the next two films of his friend and actor-turned-director Puneet Isarr. Wonder who's producing them though!

It seems Salman Khan personally supervised the editing of his recent release, 'Garv'. And guess who helped him? (Unofficially, of course). His good friend, David Dhawan, who essentially started his career as an editor. It seems David gave him several suggestions, which Salman immediately implemented. Sadly, it didn't make the film a hit though!

According to a leading trade analyst Salman has once again proved that he is a hot favourite of the masses . In Rajasthan , C.P. Berar , East Punjab and U.P. , the first day collections of ´Garv-Pride & Honour´ , were historic and if it had not been for the floods Bihar would have featured in the list too.
If this is what Salman alone can do , imagine what will happen when ´Mujhse Shaadi Karogi´ opens on July 30th as it stars Akshay Kumar with Salman - for the first time !

Before anyone groans "Not again!" at the thought of another cop film this week, let's quickly get the facts straight -- 'Garv'  is a cop film with a difference because it has Salman Khan as the khaki clad law enforcer.
This is a privilege he has never had before. Even in his home production 'Auzaar' , it was Sanjay Kapoor who got the cop's role while Salman stared sullenly from the other side of the fence.
While all the other cop-players like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar recently returned to the uniform in 'Khakee' , 'Dev' , 'Aan'  etc, Salman gets into the uniform for the first time to play an upright and idealistic law enforcer.
Can he keep a straight face? More importantly, can the audience? Will the audience accept Bollywood's resident enfant terrible as a straitlaced principled ideologue?
"Why not?" shoots back Hansal Mehta who has made 'Chal' , one of the finest films in the genre with K.K. Menon playing an undercover policeman.
"The audience doesn't go into the theatre with the baggage of the actor's real-life image. It goes to see the star playing anything from a gangster to a gang-buster and judges the performance after getting inside the theatre."
But sceptics feel Salman's overpowering image as an iconoclast could come in the way of audiences accepting him as a guy from within the establishment.
After bottling crime can Salman battle it? That's the question. Going by the advance booking all over the country, Salman has another winner on his hands. He has amassed a massive following, particularly among teenagers who see him as a rebellious icon.
Salman's two releases last year 'Baghban'  and 'Tere Naam' were huge successes. Though he had nothing substantial to do in the former, his role as Amitabh Bachchan's ideal foster-son won him favourable reviews.
But it was the role of the rebellious campus goon in 'Tere Naam' , which brought this Khan a heap of best-actor nominations last year.
'Garv'  is also an acid test for first-time director Puneet Issar. A small-time actor, Issar's main claim to fame was being locked in a historic combat with Amitabh Bachchan in 1983 on the sets of 'Coolie' when the superstar almost lost his life.
However, Issar has directed TV serials. He says it took him so long to direct a feature film because he wanted to be sure of his capabilities. Actually, it seems more like the film industry wanted to be sure whether Issar could deliver the goods.
Can he? Apart from Salman Khan, 'Garv'  doesn't have much to attract the audience. Recent Salman starrers like 'Tumko Na Bhool Payenge' , 'Hello Brother' and 'Auzaar'  prove that he isn't enough to ensure a success.
Will 'Garv'  be the fourth success of 2004 after 'Murder' , 'Main Hoon Na' and 'Hum Tum' ?
The coming Friday should provide some answers.

Did you know that the original choice for the leading man of the soon to be released film 'Garv - Pride & Honour' was Sunny Deol and not Salman Khan? Since Sunny wanted some changes in script that was not acceptable to the makers, they approached Salman. He agreed instantly.

Did you know that Amitabh Bachchan was approached to play the police commissioner's role in the forthcoming Salman Khan-starrer 'Garv - Pride & Honour'? He didn't have the dates and the role went to Amrish Puri. Thank god for that, in hindsight, we wouldn't have been able to handle another AB flick, especially when all of them seem so inclined to bombing!