They might have a couple of huge, industry-shaking tiffs in the past. But Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan's current bonding status is they are good friends border-lining on BFFs. Both the stars have shown their love for each other at various public dos, and have also appeared in each other's films in cameo appearances. While Shah Rukh Khan had a special appearance in Salman's Tubelight, Salman Khan appeared in a song in SRK's Zero. It is another matter that both the films tanked at the box office. But what matters is yeh dosti hum nahi chodenge. Baba Siddiqui Iftar Party: Shah Rukh Khan Joins Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan at the Event (Watch Exclusive Videos).

In Salman Khan's latest film, Bharat, too, the superstar plays a nice tribute to his good friend. (HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD) As you might be knowing by now, Bharat is the journey of a man, as the nation and Bharat take the journey together. So the movie shows Salman Khan in various ages, set in different decades of India.

When the movie reaches the '90s, the first scene that we see here is a portion of the late Yash Chopra's Darr, with Shah Rukh Khan jumping in the front of the camera before he starts singing 'Tu Mere Saamne'. We then hear Bharat's voiceover saying that this decade belongs to two men, one of them being Shah Rukh Khan. As for the other man, that's none other than Sachin Tendulkar!

(There is also a tribute paid to Dr Manmohan Singh, who was then Finance Minister then, for bringing globalisation to India's economy)

And then there is Amitabh Bachchan, that Bharat generously reveres in the movie, and rightly so. Most of the film is set during the '70s and the '80s, which was the peak point of the Bollywood legend when he was the angry young man.

Amitabh Bachchan is first referenced in the film, during the circus scene (before the 'Slow Motion' song). We see Sunil Grover dressed up the same way as Amitabh Bachchan's iconic getup of Anthony Gonsalves from the Prakash Mehra film Amar, Akbar Anthony. This scene was set in the '60s, and we hear Bharat (Salman Khan) saying that there was a young man in the audience who loved the getup so much that he used it in a movie later. Though he doesn't specify the actor's name, we know that he is referring to Amitabh Bachchan. The scene may not be as effective as how Farah Khan integrated Bollywood references in Om Shanti Om, but nonetheless...

Later, in the movie, when Bharat and his friend work in the Merchant Navy, their ship gets hijacked by the pirates. In a rather incredulous scene, Bharat manages to bond with the pirates by dancing to Amitabh Bachchan songs (the pirate leader was a Bachchan fan).

So while Bharat has its share of huge problems, read our complete review for that, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan fans might love how the film pays tributes to their idols. Bharat is directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, and also stars Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover, Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff, Sonali Kulkarni, Kumud Mishra, Brijendra Kala, Nora Fatehi and Tabu.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2019 01:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).