Salman Khan comes free

Salman Khan, who is known for supporting various causes, is now extending his support to an initiative for the girl child.

The actor will be performing at the WAVE (Women against Violence and Empowerment) concert tomorrow night at the MMRDA grounds in Bandra, and Sallu, who charges close to Rs 2 crore for a single performance, is doing this one for free.



Priyanka Chopra is also performing at the event. However, she has been paid a token amount for her act.
WAVE, an initiative for the upliftment and welfare of women, is a brainchild of Ashi Dua and Aliya Rashid.

This year the initiative is on a larger scale, with the motto: Education for Women. Wave II will sponsor the education of a group of young girls and help build a school.

When the Dabangg actor heard about the school and the education of the girl child, he immediately agreed to be a part of the show. Says Ashi, "Both Salman and Priyanka were extremely supportive when we approached them.

They are taking time out from their busy schedules and rehearsing hard for their respective performances. All this is for a good cause, for helping the women of the country and I am sure their association will help our endeavour." Jacqueline Fernandes and Neha Dhupia are also performing at the concert.

Musical medley

Salman's act is a medley of his hit songs, including his last film Dabangg. The actor has also done an audio-video presentation asking the people to educate the girl child.

"Salman asks the people of India 'If I can talk about educating women and the girl child why can't you?' He has prepared the AV himself and is taking a keen interest in the whole thing as he really feels for the girl child."

Meanwhile, the desi girl will pay tributes to Hema Malini and Saira Banu and also perform to her chartbusters. Both Muskaan and Nanhi Kali the two NGOs WAVE is associated with will adopt 50 girls at the event.

Bhai says why

Salman says, "Today, a lot of women are in positions of great authority and respect from male dominated fields like politics to literature and journalism.

This should stand as an example as to what is possible when a girl is allowed to study and allowed to follow her dreams."

He feels that helping build this school will give these women and young girls an opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential, or at least the platform from where the journey will begin.

"I am proud to be able to lend my support to such an endeavour. I believe that the first thing we need to tackle is the mind set towards the girl child.

We need to convince people that women are just as capable, if not more, of accomplishing all the great dreams and responsibilities that are expected from the boy of the family.

People need to realise that educating their daughters is providing them with the means they need to always be able to achieve their full potential."

Talented women from all walks of life be it sports stars, designers, actresses or businesswomen will be felicitated at the event.