Salman bail should be cancelled, says dead Ravindra Patils mother - Page 2

On Saturday, 28 September 2002, Salman was drinking at a nightclub in Juhu called Rain. He then drove down St Andrew's Road in Bandra, and did not turn where the road hit a dead end next to the lane I lived. His Land Cruiser crashed into the workers of A1 Bakery, sleeping on the steps of a shop. He killed one man, Noorulla Sharif, and wounded or crippled four.

Salman, ever the hero, ran away, leaving those migrants bleeding and dying. They testified to seeing him get down from the driver's seat. He surrendered 8 hours later, still with 62 mg of alcohol in his blood.

His police guard, constable Ravindra Patil, was blamed by Salman for driving. Patil lost his job and was disowned by his family. A newspaper published a photograph of him sitting on the floor of a bare room, skeletal from tuberculosis he had no money to treat. He died alone and bankrupt, at the age of 30 in 2007.

This had no effect on Salman's popularity, and in fact his best period was ahead of him.

In a civilized nation, his audience would be repelled as Americans were with Errol Flynn after he was accused of statutory rape. Fortunately he's popular in a culture with low morality and he can laugh off his behaviour. His charisma is intact.

Asked by The Times of India in 2007 why he had so few endorsements, he said he didn't get them: "Arre, milte nahin hain endorsements.
Karna kaun nahin chahta (I don't get endorsements ...who would not want to do them)?" His explanation was that the cases against him put advertisers off, but that's wrong. Nobody cares about that. It's his image as a mass--that is, lower class--star.

Jailed for poaching, Salman appeared in court wearing a skull cap. He claimed this was not for sympathy, but it's hard to dismiss the feeling that it was. He's almost never seen in one otherwise and the Khan family prides itself on its pluralist traditions.