Clearly, audiences love him. While Garv is on its way to becoming one of the highest -- if not the highest -- grosser of the year, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi is hot on its heels.

They love him whether he plays a serious cop in an action flick (like in Punit Issar's Garv) or whether he's tickling their funny bone in David Dhawan's MSK.

Red Tape shoes seems to have caught on fast. The company has signed Salman as its brand ambassador. This will be the star's first endorsement after his accident in September 2002, when a man was killed and four others injured, allegedly because of his rash driving.

Red Tape's Marketing Manager Arvind Varma says the accident was not a hitch when the company zeroed in on Salman. "It [the accident] is a bad memory for him. But it is time to move on."

Varma says there is a reason why Red Tape chose Salman to endorse its new range of shoes. "Red Tape has been in the market for five years and our brand conveys a certain attitude. This attitude fits Salman's."

Photograph: Arun Patil