This remake film was one of Salman's biggest hits a decade ago

As the millennium progressed, apart from Priyadarshan's original Mollywood ventures which were being received favourably in the Hindi film market, films of other Mallu directors too began hitting the bull's eye elsewhere. The 2010-film of Siddique titled 'Bodyguard' which was apt for it to be replicated in its Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Telugu versions was one such.

Like in the 1950s and 60's when a successful southern hit was directed by the original helmsman in other languages also, Siddique Ibrahim wielded the megaphone in its Tamil and Hindi versions. It was Vijay reprising the role of Dileep in Chennai while Salman Khan became the bodyguard for heroine Kareena Kapoor in this romantic-action-comedy film aimed at entertaining the Hindi film market. The present ' superstarni' of southern cinema, Nayanthara, was offered the lead role in Hindi too which she refused as she didn't want to take up a repeat performance.

Backed by Reliance Entertainment, this high-profile flick was released in August 2011 and right from day one, began accumulating collections and box-office records. It earned almost four times its investment of around Rs 60 crore all over the world, as its final BO figures read close to Rs 240 crore in Hindi. A wide variety of stars had ridden their luck on this film, which included Venkatesh in Telugu and Jaggesh in Kannada and none faced any disappointments. It only went on to establish the oft-repeated message that a remake was by and large a safe proposition for film producers in India. There were exceptions, which were ignored conveniently.

Story wise, it was fit enough to be termed an escapist fare, but somehow the separation of the lead pair owing to a quirky act of jealousy by one of the film's characters (only to be reunited later at the end) and how the entire lead-up to the climax shapes up made the film a clincher. Sallu Bhai, who was once again riding the horse of success after his earlier Telugu remake hit 'Ready' released in the same year made a repeat run. It is a no-brainer if one concludes that he managed to overcome mixed reviews for the film as he had by then established a niche for scoring well in such roles which showed him goofing around.