MUMBAI- Bollywood superstar Salman Khan who was today sentenced to fiveyears in jail in the 1998 black buck poaching case by a Jodhpur court, hasRs 400 to Rs 600 crore riding on him in the industry and the verdict willaffect three major film projects, according to trade analysts.
The 52-year-old actor was in the middle of shooting “Race 3” but it is notclear whether his work is complete on the film, being directed by RemoD’Souza. “Whatever is left of ‘Race 3’ will have to be completed soonbecause the film is releasing in June. ‘Kick 2’, ‘Dabangg 3’ and ‘Bharat’were yet to start so there isn’t much monetary loss. It is a huge loss tothe industry and trade as he is a big star who guarantees big success,”trade analyst Komal Nahta told PTI.
“‘Race 3’ has Rs 125-150 crore riding on it. For other films, not money butmay be time has gone. He has not started any other film so it isn’t thatfilms will be stuck. He may have planned it like that knowing that April 5is the date of the judgement,” Nahta added.
Trade analyst Girish Wankhede also maintains that it is a big blow to theindustry as Salman has been extremely profitable as a brand withback-to-back blockbusters to his credit. “All his films make a minimum ofRs 200 crore. Three films have already been announced. ‘Race 3’ is thebiggest Eid release. So approximately 600 crore are riding at the boxoffice,” Wankhede told PTI.
The trade insiders believe that besides the films, the actor’s endorsementdeals and TV appearances will also be negatively affected. “There is aboutRs 400 crore riding on him, including Rs 150 crore on ‘Race 3’ and signingamounts and rights of films such as ‘Bharat’, ‘Dabangg 3’ etc and the TVshow ‘Dus Ka Dum’ and TV commercials,” Amod Mehra, trade analyst, told PTI.
“‘Race 3’ is almost complete, only dubbing is left so I don’t think any ofthe films would be affected by the verdict… As other films have just beenannounced,” Mehra said.