In 'The Satanic Verses', what is the name of the film star who falls from the sky?

The film star who falls from the sky in Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” is Gibreel Farishta.

Gibreel Farishta is a Bollywood superstar known for playing Hindu deities. At the beginning of the novel, he and Saladin Chamcha are aboard an aircraft hijacked while traveling from India to Britain. The plane explodes over the English Channel, and the two men miraculously survive the fall.

Their descent becomes the novel’s central magical-realist transformation. Farishta takes on the personality and symbolic identity of the archangel Gabriel, while Chamcha develops devil-like features. Farishta’s stage name, which means “Gibreel Angel,” reinforces the connection between his film career, religious imagery, and changing sense of self.

A common mistake is to select Saladin Chamcha, who also falls from the plane but is not the film star named in the question. Chamcha is an actor and voice artist, whereas Farishta is the celebrated Bollywood star whose career centers on portraying divine figures.