Salman Khan's conviction in blackbuck poaching case 'spells doom' for single screens, Bigg Boss and starlets under his wing

For nearly three decades, Salman Khan, along with the other two Khans, has dominated Bollywood. Since the famous turnaround with Wanted in 2009, the superstar has been everywhere – in films, on TV hosting shows like Bigg Boss, in malls thanks to his clothing brand Being Human and on hoardings selling everything from glucose biscuits to underwear. The 52-year-old was sentenced to five years imprisonment in the 20-year-old blackbuck poaching case by a Jodhpur court on Thursday. Salman’s legal team is already making all attempts to get the actor out of prison as soon as possible. His bail hearing is set for 11:30 am. [caption id=“attachment_4419531” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Salman Khan. File Photo[/caption] But what if the unimaginable happens? What if Salman ends up spending the next five years in Barrack No 2 of Jodphur Central Jail? Who will pull up foul-mouthed contestants on Big Boss? For seven seasons, Salman has hosted the trashiest show on Indian television. Every season has brought its own version of sleaze, controversies and all-round madness. As a reality show host, he is charming, funny and not above calling out badly behaved contestants. Remember when he told Priyanka Jagga, ‘Yeh show aapke layak hai nahi (this show is not for you), please leave my home’ in Season 10 or when he slammed Kushan Tandon in Season 7 for abusing Tanissha Mukherjee. Which other Bigg Boss host will make fart jokes while scolding contestants? Who will employ Salman’s coterie of friends? That Salman has a big heart is not news to anyone but there is the other kind of charity that does not get talked about very often. Over the seasons, he has helped a few Bigg Boss contestants find work in films. Jai Ho, his 2014 home production, featured former contestants Ashmit Patel, Santosh Shukla and Sana Khan. Maheck Chahal from Season 5 was a part of Wanted and Armaan Kohli made his big screen comeback as a villain in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. Salman has helped quite a few leading ladies find their footing in the industry. While only Katrina Kaif and Sonakshi Sinha have gone on to have successful careers, he continues to support those who are yet to ‘make it’. Daisy Shah, a former choreographer’s assistant and his Jai Ho co-star is a part of his multi-country Da-Bbang Tour and the upcoming Race 3. Ditto for Zarine Khan who despite a dud debut in Veer got an item song (’Character Dheela’) in the next Salman film Ready. If the actor does not make any movies for the next five years, careers of many could die a quick and painful death. And what are his brothers going to do? Who will ride off from an interview just because he felt like it? Every film journalist who has interviewed the actor has his or her favourite Salman story. And each story is more bizarre than the next. In 2009, while working for an entertainment magazine, I was asked to interview the actor before the release of Wanted. The film was pegged as his big comeback after duds like London Dreams and Marigold: An Adventure in India. In a span of 20 days, I was given 11 different appointments for the interview, each of which he cancelled. From ‘I haven’t shaved’ to ‘I am bored’, Salman used every excuse in the book to cancel. One day, he saw me waiting outside his van at Mehboob Studio, asked for his bicycle and rode out of the studio without saying a word to me. In an age, when celebrities are boringly perfect, how will film journalists have any war stories without Salman? What will I watch in the neighbourhood single-screen theatre? Remember I told you I am not a Salman Khan fan? I really am not. But every time a Salman Khan film releases, I buy First-Day-Last-Show tickets at the closest single-screen theatre. I take voyeuristic pleasure in being a silent spectator to the Kumbh Melaesque mayhem that surrounds a Salman release. The hordes of fans dressed in tight Being Human T-shirts, distressed jeans and sporting Salman’s trademark bracelet, cheering wildly at ‘Bhai ka mast intro’ (when his character first appears on screen) make for a “picture-outside-the picture,” if you get my drift. (Also read — Salman Khan convicted in blackbuck poaching case: What actor’s five year jail sentence means for Bollywood) Everything about Salman spells paisa vasool and that is what endears him to every middle-aged aunty next door and that guy in the gym with dreams bigger than his biceps. Love him or hate him, you cannot not notice him and the hole his absence would create in contemporary pop culture. What am I going to watch this Eid?