Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (born 27 December 1965),[3] credited as Salman Khan (pronunciation: [s?l'ma?n 'xa?n]) is an Indian film actor, producer, singer and television personality. In a film career spanning almost thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards.[4] He has a significant following in Asia and the Indian diaspora worldwide, and is cited in the media as one of the most commercially successful actors of Indian cinema.[5][6]
The eldest son of screenwriter Salim Khan, Khan began his acting career with a supporting role in Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988) and achieved breakthrough with a leading role in his next release—Sooraj Barjatya's romance Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). Khan went on to establish himself in Bollywood in the 1990s with roles in several top-grossing productions, including the romantic drama Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), the action thriller Karan Arjun (1995), the comedy Biwi No.1 (1999), and the family drama Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999). For his role in Karan Johar's romantic drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Khan was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. After a brief period of decline in the 2000s, Khan achieved greater stardom in the 2010s by playing the lead role in blockbuster action films with Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011) and Bodyguard (2011).
He rose to prominence with series of action films Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Dabangg 2 (2012), Kick (2014), Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Sultan (2016) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), all of which rank among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. Twelve of the films in which Khan has acted in have accumulated nett gross earnings of over ?1 billion (US$15 million).[7][8][9][10] He is the only actor to star in the highest-grossing Bollywood films of ten separate years.[11] Khan topped the Forbes India charts for 2014, in terms of both fame and revenues.[12] According to the Forbes 2015 list of Top-Paid 100 Celebrity Entertainers in world, Khan was the highest ranked Indian with 71st rank with earnings of $33.5 million.[13]
In addition to his acting career, Khan is a stage performer and an active humanitarian through his charity non-profit organisation, Being Human.[14] Khan's off-screen life is marred by controversy and legal troubles. His tumultuous relationship with Aishwarya Rai, his hunting of endangered species, and a negligent driving case in which he ran over five people with his car, killing one, have been extensively covered by the Indian media.[15] For the last of these, Khan was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in 2015, but was later acquitted.[16][17][18] On 5 April 2018, Khan was convicted in a blackbuck poaching case and sentenced to five years imprisonment.[19][20] He was let out from Jodhpur jail on bail.[21] The hearing is now scheduled for 17 July 2018.[22]
He established Being Human Foundation through which he does several charities. He also owns production companies Salman Khan Being Human Production (SKBHP) and Salman Khan Films (SKF).