Rs.200 crore riding on Salman

With a huge sum of Rs.200 crore riding on actor Salman Khan, trade pundits are hoping for a way out for the superstar, whose Arms Act case verdict has been deferred till March 3. The Arms Act case against Salman is an offshoot of the Blackbuck poaching incident 16 years ago near Jodhpur. Salman was in the area to shoot for Barjatya's Hum Saath-Saath Hain in 1998.

Credit:scoopwhoop.com

          The 49-year-old is currently in Gondal near Rajkot, Gujarat shooting for Sooraj Barjatya's film, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. His other film Bajrangi Bhaijaan being directed by Kabir Khan has wrapped up shooting and is currently in post production stage for a mid-year release.

Trade analyst Komal Nahta says, Salman has approximately Rs.150 crore riding on him for these two films alone, besides another Rs50 crore for the projects that he has signed. "If you take Rs.75 crore each for these two films, it comes to a total of Rs 150 crore. And then if you add another Rs.50 crore for the projects that he has signed, it comes to Rs 200 crore,” says Nahta adding that there is some amount of tension but the actor has the option to further appeal his case.

Film distributor Rajesh Thadani further adds that the judgement will affect the annual box office numbers as well. “His films are the biggest crowd pullers and in case they don’t release, the whole industry as well as the business for the entire year will get affected. There is a lot of money at stake here. But I am sure he also realizes this and has worked some way out,” he says.
Trade analyst Atul Mohan is also hopeful that Salman will find a way out of this. “Taking into consideration the charity work which he is involved in, I am hopeful that some relaxation is given to bhai. Salman is undoubtedly the biggest star today with huge money riding on him. God forbid if any judgement is passed against him it will be a big blow not only for the investors but also his fans,” he says.

However the ad world remains unaffected by this development, says ad-filmmaker Prahlad Kakar. “I don’t think the ad world thinks so much in advance. A maximum of Rs.1-2 crore is riding on Salman. That is the amount which is paid when someone is signed. An ad shoot hardly takes two days, so he can finish off many of them till March 3,” he says.