'Bollywood movies don't have heroism'

Salman Khan feels the heroism in South Indian films draws audiences to the theatres, and that is lacking in Hindi movies today.

The superstar, known for massy entertainers like Wanted and the Dabangg franchise, made the remarks while talking about about the pan-India culture in movies at the International Indian Film Academy press conference in Mumbai.

"We both (South and Bollywood) believed in heroism in cinema. When you come out of theatres, you have a hero. But here, apart from one or two people, we are not making heroism films...

"Now, people have become cool and think this is clichéd. With herosim, the emotional connect has to be there, that is important. This format started with Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar and then it has been taken to the next level," Khan said during the media interaction.

Hailing the South Indian film industry writers and directors for their writing and vision, Salman -- screenwriter legend Salim Khan's eldest son -- hopes instead of South Indian films being remade in Hindi, the trend is reversed.

"There should be times when they should pick up our scripts. The writers over there are hard working. The directors also make concept films, which people see," Khan added.

Salman recently started shooting for the Telugu action film Godfather, which is headlined by Southern superstar Chiranjeevi. It is directed by Mohan Raja and marks Salman's debut in the Telugu film industry.

"It has been a very good experience working with him. I have known Chirugaru for the longest time, he is my friend and his son Ram Charan is also my friend and he has done good work in RRR," Salman said.

It feels so good when these guys do well. I am very proud of him. But why does it happen that our films don't work there, their films work here?" he said.

When asked whether he planned a full fledged appearance in a South Indian film, Salman replied, "They don't come to me with Telugu or Tamil, they come to me with Hindi movies."

IIFA will be held on May 20 and 21 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and will be hosted by Salman Khan and Riteish Deshmukh.

Speaking about performing on stage, Khan, who is 56, said he is still energetic and rehearses before the final act.

"You rehearse basically for stamina. The adrenaline rush gets you really excited and makes you feel tired quickly. There are times when I have got tired back stage, but then you go for it.

"One has to respect the people who come to watch the show, so you have go give your best. If you don't give your best, no one will come to watch you next time," he added.

When asked if a host should be careful with jokes, Khan said, "As a host, you have to be sensitive. Humour is above the belt and not below the belt."

Varun Dhawan and actor-host Maniesh Paul, who were present at the event, shared similar views.

"They get offended and one has to be careful," Dhawan said.

Paul said they try to 'draw the line', but sometimes things get sensitive.

"Earlier, humour was 'khul ke', but now things have become sensitive... Whenever I have been on stage, I have not offended anyone. It all depends on your sense of humour," he said, adding, it is the duty of an artiste to check what the writers have written in the script.