Salman Khan is the undisputed king of the Eid Bollywood box office, releasing blockbuster hits timed perfectly for the holiday over the past 15 years. This year is no different, as Khan returns in Sikandar, which is being released for Eid Al Fitr on Sunday.
It is the latest instalment in a formidable body of work by an actor devoted to entertaining his vast fan base, while occasionally taking tentative – and sometimes surprisingly successful – steps towards artistic growth. As anticipation builds, here is a look back Khan’s previous Eid releases.
1. Wanted (2009)
Khan’s first foray into releasing films during Eid came with Wanted, a Hindi remake of the Telugu hit Pokiri. In the swashbuckling action film, Khan plays a no-nonsense hitman whose menace is revealed to be driven by a deep desire for vengeance. Wanted, which also starred Ayesha Takia and Prakash Raj, was praised for its stylish execution and mass appeal. The film reportedly grossed nearly 100 crore rupees ($11.7 million), delivering a much-needed hit for Khan after a period of underwhelming box office returns.
2. Dabangg (2010)
Spawning two sequels and a successful touring stage production led by Khan himself, Dabangg was a box office hit precisely because it did not take itself too seriously.
Directed by Abhinav Kashyap, Khan stars as Chulbul Pandey – a self-assured and slightly corrupt police officer who clashes with a rising local politician while falling for the grounded Rajjo (played by Sonakshi Sinha in her debut).
Its simple, crowd-pleasing formula proved a winner, with Dabangg becoming the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2010 and earning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film. The film not only catapulted Khan to a new level of superstardom but also helped build his reign as the king of Eid releases.
3. Bodyguard (2011)
It was a case of third time’s a charm for Khan with this Eid release. By now, both audiences and the film industry had come to recognise the holiday season as his own.
Khan does not stretch himself too far here, playing a terse and tightly-lipped security officer tasked with protecting Divya (Kareena Kapoor), the scion of a powerful business family. As their romance begins to kindle, so does the danger, with a shadowy threat looming over Divya’s life. Bodyguard delivered exactly what fans had come to expect from a blockbuster Khan Eid film – becoming yet another runaway success.
4. Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
Khan channels his inner James Bond in the first instalment of this action film franchise – playing a globe-trotting secret agent. He is on a mission to track a scientist based in Dublin who suspected of leaking sensitive information to foreign security agencies. Featuring winning chemistry with co-star Katrina Kaif, Ek Tha Tiger blends action and romance in equal measure and took the Indian box office by storm.
5. Kick (2014)
Khan goes supernova here – entirely on his own terms. The first film produced under the newly established Salman Khan Films banner, Kick is a high-octane action film that sees the star play a thrill-seeker bored with the monotony of suburban life.
When his relationship with psychiatrist Shaina (Jacqueline Fernandez) begins to fade, he disappears – only to return as the masked vigilante Devil, a Robin Hood – like figure who steals from the rich to support poor and helpless children.
Brimming with swagger and anchored by Khan’s trademark thousand-yard stare, Kick was a massive success, grossing over 400 crore and becoming one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time.
6. Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)
A welcome change of pace for Khan – and one of the defining roles of his career. In the touching Bajrangi Bhaijaan, he plays Pavan, a devout and kind-hearted man who stumbles upon a lost six-year-old Pakistani girl, Shahida, who has somehow found herself in India. Determined to reunite her with her family, Pavan embarks on a cross-border journey, facing political and bureaucratic obstacles and forging unexpected friendships.
A tender, humanist film with an important message, Bajrangi Bhaijaan resonated with audiences in India, Pakistan and China – becoming another entry in the list of highest-grossing Indian films.
7. Sultan (2016)
Buoyed by the success of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Khan takes on another emotionally rich role in this sports drama. Set in the world of Indian wrestling, he plays the title character – a humble athlete whose rise to fame makes him brash and arrogant. When tragedy and hubris derail his career, he makes a weary return to the ring, transformed by the fast-evolving world of mixed martial arts.
A winning mix of brawn and heart, Khan delivers a finely tuned performance that offsets some of the script’s heavy-handedness. Met with a rapturous reception at the box office, Sultan became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2016.
8. Tubelight (2017)
While Khan’s effort to explore more emotionally layered characters is commendable, not even his commitment can save this cloying melodrama. Set during the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the title refers to the disparaging nickname of Laxman (Khan) – a barrel-chested simpleton whose cognitive abilities are likened to a flickering fluorescent tube.
When his brother is declared missing in action, Laxman is drafted into the Indian Army, embarking on a personal journey that leads him to befriend a Chinese–Indian woman while facing social prejudice during a particularly sensitive chapter in Indian history.
As The National noted in its review, the film’s “flickering moments of quality are rare and fail to convince that Tubelight is anything more than low-voltage fluff”.
9. Race 3 (2018)
More a reboot than a sequel, this new instalment sees Khan replacing Saif Ali Khan in the lead role of Sikander – a member of a powerful crime family – and in doing so, transforms the franchise from a brooding noir to the more predictable and lightweight action fare Khan is known for. The shift was too much for audiences, with the film viciously panned by critics and falling short of commercial expectations.
10. Bharat (2019)
One of Khan’s most ambitious offerings, Bharat is the Hindi adaptation of the Korean film Ode to My Father, reimagined against the emotionally charged backdrop of the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. Khan inhabits the title role – a man whose life is shaped by the trauma of being separated from his father at Lahore railway station, and who strives to honour a promise to keep his own family together.
While Khan was praised for his restrained performance, the film’s sensitive historical themes may have contributed to its underwhelming box office return.
11. Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai (2021)
It took a global pandemic Covid-19 to keep Khan away from the Eid big screen in 2020, but he returned the following year with the action adventure film Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. Once again drawing inspiration from Korean cinema – this time a remake of 2017’s The Outlaws – the film follows Radhe (Khan), an undercover police officer tasked with curbing the rampant flow of drugs into Mumbai. Packed with dizzying action sequences and laced with Khan’s signature dry one-liners, Radhe was hampered by its hybrid release strategy, premiering in select cinemas and on streaming platforms simultaneously due to pandemic restrictions.
12. Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023)
By the time he released this latest Eid offering, audiences were beginning to show signs of fatigue with Khan’s formula.
Although there is plenty to enjoy in this action drama – with Khan playing Bhaijaan, a man whose dark past resurfaces to disrupt both his family’s harmony and his budding romance with Bhagya (Pooja Hegde) – it all feels overly familiar. The box office responded accordingly with underwhelming returns. Subsequently, Khan took a year off.
Sikandar (2025)
Things are already looking promising for Khan’s latest Eid release, Sikandar, which has one of the most-viewed Bollywood trailers of all time, amassing more than 57 million views on YouTube over four days. Directed by AR Murugadoss, the action film had a reported production budget of around 200 crore rupees ($23 million), with the story primarily set in Mumbai. While the plot remains under wraps, Sikandar is said to follow Khan’s titular character as he rallies local citizens to rise up against government corruption.
Titan Sports Academy:
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Our legal consultants
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Results
5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Spirit Of Light, Clement Lecoeuvre (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer)
6.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner Bright Start, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
6.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner Twelfthofneverland, Nathan Crosse, Satish Seemar
7.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Imperial Empire, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
7.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m
Winner Record Man, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner Celtic Prince, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
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THE SPECS
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Engine: 6.0-litre V12
Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic
Power: 595bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh999,563
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
