Salman Khan at the launch of the TV show “Bigg Boss 11” in Mumbai, Sept. 26. (Santosh Hirlekar/PTI)

He is one of the highest paid actors in Bollywood today, but Salman Khan reveals his first-ever salary was meagerly Rs. 75. Meanwhile, a court in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Sept. 27, rejected an application by a former forest officer who alleged that actor Salman Khan misled the court to seek exemption from appearance in the Arms Act case hearing.

Salman occupied the second spot on Forbes list of the ‘Highest Paid Actors in Bollywood’ for the year 2017.

He also became the highest paid TV actor with reports suggesting that he could be getting Rs. 11 crore per episode for hosting the 11th season of reality show “Bigg Boss.”

While the 51-year-old actor is yet to comment on the reports, he remembers what he was paid during his initial days.

In an interview with PTI, Salman says, “My first salary was, I think, about Rs. 75. I was dancing behind in some show in Taj hotel. One of my friends was dancing there so he took me (and I did it) just for fun.

“Then it went up to Rs. 750 for Campa Cola (a soft drink brand) and then it was Rs. 1,500 for the longest time.

Then I got paid Rs. 31,000 for ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya,’ which was then increased to Rs. 75,000 later.”

For the “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” star, this is his eighth season as the host of the controversial reality series and Salman says he always comes back to the show because he connects with the format.

“There is nothing else that I am interested in doing, this is one of the better shows that I have. There are other really good shows but I don’t think they are of my format. I don’t think I’ll be able to pull that off. I know I can pull this one off.”

Salman says he needs shows which have a connect with “common people” to be a part of.

“Even ‘Dus Ka Dum’ (a reality game show) worked well for me. I need that vibe, that touch with different personalities, with common man. I need that connect. Till the time I don’t have a connect, I don’t think I can pull anything off,” he said.

“Bigg Boss” airs on Colors TV.

Salman Khan (c) arrives to appear before a court district judge in connection with an Arms Act case in Jodhpur, Aug. 4. (AFP/Getty Images)

Plea Against Salman Rejected

“Khan had to appear in the court in a case against him under the Arms Act on April 23, 2015. But he sought exemption on the ground that he had been suffering from pain in his ear and the doctors had recommended against air travel,” said the actor’s counsel H.M. Saraswat.

The court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, however, granted him exemption.

The then forest officer Lalit Bora moved the application in the court stating that Khan had misled the court by seeking exemption because on the said day he had been shooting for his film “Bajrangi Bhaijan” in Kashmir.

“We argued in the court that his pain did not bar him from working but traveling by air. The doctors had prohibited him from traveling by air as the pain in the ear could aggravate,” Saraswat said.

Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had completed the arguments on this application on Sept. 23 and had reserved the order to be pronounced on Sept. 27.

On the other hand, government counsel Bhawani Singh Bhati said two more applications are pending before the court – one is pertaining to the submitting a false affidavit of missing arms in the court by Khan and another moved by Khan against Bora.

Arguments on both these applications will take place on Oct. 4, while the final arguments in the black buck poaching case are under progress in the trial court.