Out on bail, Salman Khan begins his Bharat journey

Barely a couple of weeks ago, producers were in a state of near panic with the likelihood of their projects featuring Salman Khan having to be shelved after the superstar was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Jodhpur.

Khan got bail after spending two days in jail and it was expected that he would wind up the shooting of Race 3, which was more than 90% complete. And with the hearing of his appeal against his conviction due on 7 May, the smart money would have said producers would wait before starting work on a new project with the actor.

Khan wrapped up work on Race 3 as expected, and then proceeded to surprise everyone by beginning shooting for Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bharat, which is slated to be released on Eid in 2019.

Before he was convicted in the blackbuck poaching case, industry circles believed that Khan would start work on his home production Dabangg 3 after completing Race 3. Now that he has started work on Bharat, Dabangg 3 will get pushed back further.

Bharat went on the floors today. The film is a remake of the Korean movie Ode To My Father (2014) and is reported to span seven decades starting from 15 August 1947. Khan is said to have five different looks in the film.

Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra have at different times been rumoured to be playing the female lead in the film.