Happy Birthday Salman Khan; Turns 47 on Dec 27

As Salman Khan, 'bhai' to family, friends and fans, turns 47 on December 27, his life and career has been one of Bollywood's biggest success stories.

From the scrawny male lead with huge, expressive eyes in 'Maine Pyar Kiya' to beefcake cop in 'Dabangg 2', it's an interesting journey fraught with personal loss, loss of face and controversies - one that almost incarcerated him.

He remains one of Hindi cinema's endearing icons as he goes from success to success - building myths of economic invincibility around his films.