By Subhash K Jha

Salman Khan is known to ask people close to him to do the oddest of things at the oddest hours. And it's reciprocal. He can land up at a friend's doorstep at 1. 30 in the night with a self-made painting if he gets to know it's the friend's mother's birthday. (This actually happened recently with an openmouthed filmmaker-friend).

It is therefore no surprise to know that Salman rang up Mahesh Manjrekar recently with an offer he, the director-actor, just couldn't refuse.

"You're in Bodyguard, " he told Mahesh Manjrekar who has been angling to get Salman to listen to his script for a film that Manjrekar has been meaning to direct with Salman in the lead for a year now.

Now Manjrekar has to join the Bodyguard team from the 3 April.

The funniest part of Salman's film offer is that Manjrekar is clueless about what he's supposed to play. This has been the case with every offer for a Salman film in the past two years from Wanted and Dabangg to the under-production Ready and now Bodyguard.

Laughs Mahesh, "He hasn't told me what I play in Bodyguard. He has just asked me to join the unit. I don't mind. I never ask him my role. Because I know he's asking me with a good role in mind. I think Salman prefers me to be an actor. He keeps offering me roles in his films. I don't get a chance to direct him at all. "

Ever since Manjrekar appeared as the main villain in the Wanted Salman considers Mahesh Manjrekar a luck mascot.

According to a source, "Before Wanted Salman had a spate of flops like God Tussi Great Ho, Yuvraaj and Marigold. Wanted put him back on the top. It had Manjrekar in it. Then came a few duds like Main Aur Mrs Khanna and Veer which had no Manjrekar. Dabangg that followed featured Manjrekar on Salman's special request. "

The rest was hysteria.

For Anees Bazmi's Ready too Mahesh was not told what his role was until he arrived on location in Colombo.

Recalls Manjrekar, "When I landed there I realized I had a positive role in Ready. Thank God I wasn't playing a lecher. It was becoming tough for my 17-year old son to explain to his friends why his father was always playing leery characters. Hopefuly in Bodyguard too I'll have a positive role. "

However there's 'bad' news for Mahesh. When I checked with Bodyguard producer Atul Agnihotri he informed that Manjrekar had a negative role in the film.