From Ram to Arjun, how Ali Abbas Zafar eventually named Salman Bharat

Ali Abbas Zafar spent several days thinking about a perfect name for the lead character of his upcoming film and the director says he even delved into mythology until he got a perfect title in Bharat The film which is scheduled to release on June 5 is a remake of Ode To My Father Ali says he was extremely impressed with the 2014 Korean drama but the adaptation had to be in sync with the Indian sensibilitiesI didnt want to call it Ode to My Father I wasnt looking only at the promise he makes to his father but a lot of other things I told Salman Ill make the film as not only his but the nations journey But I needed to know what the character should be called Ali told PTIThe director said since Salman was headlining it the film had to be completely rewritten while simultaneously finding an ideal Indian name for the heroI thought Ram is an ideal hero from mythology Could the character be called Arjun because he is doing it for his dharma karma Or should he be called Karna a selfless hero What do I call the filmI felt if he is synonymous with what the nation has been over the generations he should be named after the country One night at 3AM I was tossing on the bed thinking hard and then I had it Bharat he saidHe immediately shared the name with Salman and producer Atul Agnihotri Producer Sajid Nadiadwala had the title registered under him so I told him about our film Both Salman and Atul also jumped on it Once I found the title I started writing the filmAli who has previously helmed blockbuster Salman films such as Sultan and Tiger Zinda Hai was clear that he needs to put his maximum work into the writing The writing process for Bharat lasted almost a year and a half and Ali said of all the Salman films this one has gone through severe draftingTo bring out an emotion is the most difficult thing in a film If you can crack that code crack the reason youre making the film and how the audience will react everything else becomes peripheral Once I understood the emotion we were trying to show the film was setThe 36yearold filmmaker said he wanted to do a film on relationships and Bharat was a perfect choiceSultan was about a man fighting his ego Tiger was a rescue drama with action but Bharat is solely a film on relationships That was a new territory for me At 36 I wanted to explore a man at 70 I pushed myselfThe film features the 53yearold superstar in several looks depicting changing decades and Ali says Bharat has six Salman Khan films in it The soul is the same throughout every look but every chapter is like a story with a beginning middle and an end Like the thin moustache he sports is a hat tip to the Guru Dutt eraAs we evolved the look changed with bell bottoms the language changed from Urdu it become Hindustani and few English words came in Along with the language graph the visual tone also changesOne of the most talked about scenes from his sports drama Sultan featured Salman as a hasbeen wrestler who looks at his paunch in the mirror and realises he has lost all his gloryAli credited Salman for giving his best in the film If Im calling Bharat as old as the nation he needs to look like that someone who has seen everything and evolved Salman had no apprehension He understands his audience really well He thought that the old man look will get the maximum impact He is bang on in that look and with his performance the director saidBharat also features Katrina Kaif Tabu Sunil Grover Sonali Kulkarni and Jackie ShroffAlso ReadWatch video Heres what went into the making of Salman Khan and Disha Patanis Slow Motion songCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates