Six-pack Sallu plays widower

The actor is getting out of his comfort zone to play a middle-aged, middle-class widower and father of two in Mahesh Manjrekar's next

For years, we've seen Salman Khan as the cool dude, bashing up villains and flashing his chiselled torso. Now, get ready to see the bad boy do the unthinkable -- play a widowed, working class father of two in Ready, Mahesh Manjrekar's Hindi adaptation of hit Marathi film Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho.

What's more, Khan has even agreed to pile on the kilos to look the part. Manjrekar will play the actor's father in the film that's currently being shot in Sri Lanka. Manjrekar's original Marathi film is a hard-hitting one about a teenager who would rather play cricket than spend time studying, a subject Khan immediately connected with.

Says a source close to Khan, "Like the boy in Manjrekar's film, Salman shared a volatile relationship with his father Salim Khan. He has also spoken of the way he was beaten as a child, and his hatred of formal education."

Says Manjrekar, "Yes, Salman saw the Marathi film and loved it. He has never attempted something this middle-class before. This film will open a whole new fan following for Salman. He has played the cool dude to perfection. Now, it's time to play a not-so-cool dad."

Khan certainly seems to be in the mood to expand his repertoire as an actor. In his production Dabangg too, he plays a debauched cop, a far cry from his macho lover boy image. Will it work? We'll wait and watch.