Will Salman strike gold again with 'Bodyguard'? (IANS Preview)

New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) After playing a fearless cop in 'Dabangg' and a romantic in 'Ready', superstar Salman Khan is back this Eid with more action and drama in director Siddique's 'Bodyguard', which also stars Kareena Kapoor in the lead.

'Bodyguard' is the Hindi remake of the Malayalam film of the same name. It is being co-produced by Atul Agnihotri and Reliance Entertainment. The makers have set up a marketing and print budget of around Rs.22 crore.

The story revolves around bodyguard Lovely Singh (Salman), who is extremely dedicated to his work and is proud of what he does. Lovely Singh is given the job of guarding Divya (Kareena), daughter of Sartaj Rana (Raj Babbar), a business tycoon.

Divya gets irritated with Lovely's over-protective nature and finds him a major obstacle in her day-to-day life. To get rid off her bodyguard, Divya plans to trap him in a fake love affair as she feels he will leave her once smitten.

She becomes an anonymous admirer of Lovely and starts pursuing him, expressing her love for him. She realises he isn't the kind to get easily influenced but manages to succeed in her plan -- Lovely falls in love and turns into a completely different person.

The story takes an unexpected turn when Divya learns a few things about Lovely, things she could never have imagined. Divya finds herself trapped in a dilemma she finds difficult to resolve.

Lovely realises he is caught in a web of lies, trickery and deceit. The film is the story of conflict between innocence, mischief, love, power and life.

Salman, who knows how to make people feel special, asked his bodyguard of 15 years, Shera, to launch the promo of the film.

The actor even chose to wear the same uniform that the employees of Shera's security agency wear. Salman is seen shaking a leg with Katrina Kaif in an item song 'Aaya re aaya bodyguard', in which Shera also makes an appearance.

Unlike most films where male actors with a baritone lend their voice for some special scenes, Kareena has given the voiceover for a crucial emotional scene in 'Bodyguard'.

Eid has been a lucky day for Salman. 'Wanted' released in 2009 and 'Dabangg' in 2010, both swept the box-office with record breaking collections. Although his last film 'Ready' with Asin was not an Eid release, it still worked well at the box-office.

Salman and Kareena have been extensively promoting the film. Whether the actor will be able to strike gold again is yet to be seen.