A local court is set to announce the verdict in the hit-and-run case involving Bollywood superstar Salman Khan on May 6, and while an investment of about Rs2 billion (Dh115 million) is riding on him, the film industry isn’t too worried. The reason: The slow legal processes in India.
“There is no panic in the film industry or in anybody’s mind, thanks to the laws in India. It is because we all are very clear that there are other ways to come out as well like bail. So there is no question of panicking over his arrest as of now,” industry expert Amod Mehra told IANS.
On the same note, another trade expert, Vinod Mirani, said that even if he is sentenced by the court, Khan is unlikely to be sent to jail soon.
“If the decision is not in his favour, he will appeal to a higher court. Nobody goes to jail so fast. He will appeal and then that court will undertake proceedings of the case which will take time,” Mirani told IANS.
“The film industry is hoping that nothing terrible happens. Either he is pronounced innocent or the least punishment is given,” said trade analyst Komal Nahata.
Khan’s two upcoming films, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which stars Kareena Kapoor, and Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo opposite Sonam Kapoor, are currently in the last phase of shooting.
The 49-year-old actor recently shot for Bajrangi Bhaijaan in Kashmir.
Mehra said Khan had committed to doing four others films, including Dabangg 3 and No Entry Mein Entry.
“The total cost of the two films would be around Rs. 200 crore plus. So that is the amount riding on him at present,” Mehra said.
But Mirani asserts that there is no cause to worry as of now.
“It takes a lot of time to send somebody to jail. It can even take ten years,” Mirani said.
The actor is accused of crashing his car, while drunk, into a roadside bakery in suburban Bandra in Mumbai in the early hours of September 28, 2002, killing one person and injuring four others.
The maximum sentence he can get is a ten years’ jail term on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
After Sanjay Dutt, Khan is the second big star from the Mumbai film industry to be embroiled in a high-profile criminal case in recent years. He is also facing trial in a Rajasthan court for hunting a black buck during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain.
Meanwhile, actor Jacky Bhagnani said, “I am personally very, very close to Salman Khan. But it’s a court decision. I can’t talk about it too much. I hope justice prevails.”
Veteran actor Anupam Kher said, “Salman is a wonderful person. I pray to the god he is happy after the verdict. He is a very good human being. I hope everything is sorted out.”
Actress Soha Ali Khan said she was praying to God to give Khan and his family strength. “He is very close to my family and has always been very helpful,” she said.
The film industry may not worry, but if industry reports are true, 49-year-old Salman has not been accepting any new projects till the verdict is pronounced.
