Can Veer girl Zarine break the Salman jinx?

The whole world is talking about Katrina Kaif look alike Zarine Khan's debut in the upcoming Salman Khan biggie, Veer.

What no one seems to notice is that Zarine actually has a bigger challenge.

At hand than merely living up to reigning Bollywood queen Katrina's glamour.

The debutant actress is the latest in a long line of girls introduced on the Hindi screen opposite Salman.

Zarine's challenge lies in the fact that no actress who has debuted opposite Salman has had much of a career in Bollywood.

Can Zarine break the Salman jinx? If she does, she will become the first newcomer.

Actress opposite Salman to achieve that rare feat at the Bollywood box-office.

Past track record, though, paints a negative picture. Way back in 1989, Bhagyashree made a hit debut with Salman in Maine Pyar Kiya. Her career, however, never really took off after that Sooraj Barjatya blockbuster, once she married flop actor Himalaya. Bhagyashree tried several comebacks ever since in movies as well as on TV but none of it had any impact.

"In Salman's films, girls don't have to do anything besides look pretty and dance well," says filmmaker Jag Mundhra. "So, his film's success hardly boosts an actress's career." Probably that's what happened to Nagma. She made her way into Hindi cinema with Baaghi in 1990 opposite Salman but failed to carve much of a Bollywood career. Later, she did bit roles in films like Yalgaar and King Uncle before making it big in south Indian films.

A year later, Salman again hit the screen with a new girl - Chandni in Sanam Bewafa. Although the Saawan Kumar-directed film was a superhit, Chandni could never make it big in Bollywood.

"Salman is a true example of a superstar. His films are largely built around him," says ad guru Prahlad Kakkar. "Plus, I feel actresses who work with Salman are too much in awe of him. That's not a positive approach."

Bhumika Chawla too made a smashing entry with Tere Naam opposite Salman in 2003. The film was a superhit but Bhumika vanished after a slew of flops such as Run, Silsiilay and Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha. In 2005, Salman's Lucky: No Time for Love created news when he cast Aishwarya Rai-look alike Sneha Ullal as his heroine, shortly after his break-up with Ash. The film flopped and Sneha's career never took off.

"Salman needs to be more intelligent while choosing girls for his films. They should fit the roles and characters more than anything else. He must be very cautious about it because they ultimately impact the film," says Kakkar.

Indeed, Sneha's choice seemed to be driven by emotion on Salman's part rather than any professional reason. Many people feel Zarine's casting is also driven by Salman's love for his current girlfriend Katrina. Given her towering superstar image, she might not have fitted the role in a maledominated film.