Much like Sanjay Dutt – who was sentenced to five years in jail for possessing arms in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts’ case – there is now a lot of speculation about what will happen if Bollywood’s King with the Midas touch – Salman Khan – is sent to jail for 10 years. Even at 47, Salman is undoubtedly the most eligible bachelor of Bollywood with a bevy of beauties willing to do anything to get a mere glimpse of this absolute charmer. Along with his good looks, amazing body and a big heart, nobody can refute the fact that Salman is a brand in himself and anything associated with him is sure to become a hit among his humungous fan following. Hypothetically speaking, if Salman is sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the court in the 2002 hit-and-run case, the Hindi film industry is sure to suffer a major revenue loss. Almost all of Salman’s recent movies have made it to the Rs 100 crore club effortlessly. The actor’s review petition had been rejected by a Sessions Court on June 24, 2013 and he is currently being tried for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. On the ill-starred night of September 28, 2002, Salman’s car ran into a bakery in Mumbai killing one and injuring three others. The actor has since been on trial for the hit-and-run case for rash and negligent driving, and drunken driving. The good looking actor – who ventured into Bollywood with ‘Biwi Ho Toh Aisi’ in 1988 – has completed almost 25 years in the film industry and has carved an unmatchable niche for himself. His movies like ‘Wanted’, ‘Dabangg’, ‘Ready’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Dabangg 2’ and ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ have done more business than many films combined together. In fact, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ became the second ever Bollywood film to gross over 300 crores worldwide.

Starting with the brands endorsed by him, everything and everybody related to Tinsel Town is sure to receive a setback in case Salman is jailed for 10 years. These brands are among some of the most well-endorsed and popular brands in the country, and abroad likewise owing to the mass popularity of Salman Khan. A soft drink that the actor endorses, had earlier replaced Salman with Akshay Kunmar after their first contract expired but later got him back with the tagline ‘Aaj kuch toofani karte hain’. Recently, Salman made headlines for rejecting the offer of a small-time cement company – which wanted him to endorse their brand – just because they could not afford to pay the fee demanded by him – a whopping Rs 20 crores. Going by these figures, it is easy to reckon his worth just in the advertising industry and how big the loss will be in case the actor ends up behind bars. Moving on to his movies, Salman is in demand because of his image of being a mass entertainer. Producers love making films with him because his movies are meant for people of all ages, have no sexually explicit content and are complete “paisa wasool” entertainers. The actor has quite a number of movies in his kitty at the moment, even though people are well aware of the court cases he is embroiled in. Moreover, everybody knows that just like in case of his close buddy Sanjay Dutt, Salman may have to face the wrath of the judges and serve an entire decade in jail. He has movies like ‘Mental’ – which since its inception has been making headlines – ‘Kick’ and ‘No Entry Mein Entry’ lined up for release in the near future. Sooraj Barjatya – who churned out smashing hits like ‘Hum Apke Hain Kaun!’, ‘Maine Pyaar Kia’ and ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ with Salman – recently roped him for a yet untitled family movie.

The biggest setback probably will be suffered by the makers of ‘Bigg Boss’. The TV reality show has had hosts like Shilpa Shetty, Amitabh Bachchan and Arshad Warsi but failed to tick it off with the audience. Since Salman Khan stepped into the shoes of the host in 2010, there has been no looking back because of the popularity of the show owing to Salman Khan’s presence and his witty hosting skills. Additionally, if rumours are to be believed, Salman has even been roped in for the seventh season of the show and the shooting of the promos is to begin soon. In Salman’s absence, ‘Bigg Boss 7’ might not gain the same reception from the viewers as the show did in the last two seasons. These are just matters of money, popularity and TRPs but what about his NGO ‘Being Human’? Even though other members of his family like Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan and Malaika Arora Khan are also big names in the industry, none of them is as big in Filmdom as Salman is. His constant promotion of the NGO – which works for the underprivileged and impoverished – is one of the main reasons behind its popularity. Salman has even taken to wearing only Being Human t-shirts to encourage his fans and critics alike to contribute some amount towards the charitable trust. In a career spanning almost two and a half decades, Salman has worked in blockbusters like ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Tere Naam’, ‘Wanted’, ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kia’ and ‘Dabangg’. He has had his share of ups and downs but still managed to soar above all his problems and create a huge impact in Bollywood. If Salman is jailed, he will be 57 by the time he comes back and it is a known fact that age never stays on an actor’s side, no matter how famous he or she is. Ten years down the line, young actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh would have taken the baton and made a coveted place for themselves. However, what remains to be seen is whether Salman will be able to bounce back and pick things up from the very point he leaves them and continue his legacy of being one of the most popular actors the Hindi film industry has ever produced!