Fundamentally Salman remains the same - fun loving, brash and large hearted. He isn't working any harder now than in the past, he readily admits. He still reports on set whenever he manages to haul himself there. So where has the success come from?  "When I was promoting 'Tere Naam', I was telling people to see the film but never to follow the role. The character is a loser. A girl leaves him and he keeps on crying... move on, there are other girls. I don’t take terms like bhai too seriously. If you start thinking about it, it doesn’t look natural. I say go with the flow. Abhi achcha time hai, but the worst thing about good time is also that it doesn’t last forever (laughs). Actually I have had quite a long run." 

In an interview with HT, Salman explains, "In the past, I had a knee-jerk approach to work and it showed on screen. I was doing movies for the wrong reasons - trying to juggle dates, do too many guest appearances, take up projects under pressure or for emotional reasons. But now there's a method to my madness...Today, I am doing movies only for my fans and I am enjoying every bit of it. They are happy and so am I." 

Salman remains unfazed by the adulation that he is now receiving on account of his films and has a firm handle on the context. 

"It feels nice to be loved, but let me tell you there are 10 times more better looking, stylish and talented guys than me. So there's no solid reason for me to be proud! I don't think I have done anything extraordinary to change people's lives. Yeh sab showbaazi hai aur isme credit lene ki baat kya hai? Mein chaand pe thodi pahunch gaya, ya koi cancer ka dawa invent kiya? (This is show business; there is nothing to take credit for. Have I gone to the moon or invented a cure for cancer?)." 

He adds, "If at all I am proud of anything, it's my charitable trust, Being Human, which helps the needy." 

Also, Salman isn't banking on the permanence of his popularity. It will inevitably subside, and when it does he will still be the same Salman. 

"There are people who take their onscreen image seriously. Luckily, I don't," he says impishly. 

Asked if he felt lonely at the top, his reply was quintessentially Salman. 

"Whoever coined the phrase may have been a lonely soul himself. I am blessed to have people with me and around me always. Nothing is more important to me more than the three Fs in my life — family, friends and fans." 

Summing up his success Salman says, "Coincidentally, my destiny, luck and chance all came at the same time. I sent out a positive energy to the universe and it all came back to me. Personally, everything is fine. There have been health problems on and off, but I can handle those. I am enjoying the phase while it lasts." 

Salman is blessed with the love of his family, friends and fans. So does he intend to remain a bachelor? 

"No. Why should I?" he asks. 

Asked who would be more important to him - the girl in his life or his family? 

"I will side with whoever is correct at that point," he said.