Black buck case: Did Salman Khan's political reach help him in Rajasthan?
In the late '90s, Salman Khan had begun to gain notoriety as Bollywood's bad boy.
Maine Pyaar Kyon Kiya, Salaam-e-Ishq, God Tussi Great Ho, Nanhe Jaisalmer - these unremarkable movies from the Bollywood stable had one thing in common. It was not for nothing that prominent Rajasthan Congress leader Bina Kak, who held key portfolios in previous Gehlot governments, including Women and Child Development and Forest, got to play noticeable roles in these movies.
In the late '90s, Salman Khan had begun to gain notoriety as Bollywood's bad boy. Meanwhile, in Jodhpur, a city known for its monuments and palaces, Salman Khan was fast becoming the talk of the town. His late night revelries, booze parties and rumoured expeditions were creating more than just a few ripples.
Much to the chagrin of the local Bishnoi community, rumours of Salman Khan's alleged late night shooting expeditions were spreading like wildfire. The Bishnoi community has, over the years, remained steadfast in its commitment towards protecting wildlife. The chinkaras or the black bucks, beautiful but protected species, have for decades been worshipped and treated by them like their own.
On the fateful night in 1998, Salman Khan allegedly went on a hunting expedition and killed two chinkaras in Bhawad. It is also alleged that the actor killed another one two days later at Ghoda farms. Two black bucks were also allegedly killed in Kankari during an expedition in which co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre gave him company. The Bishnois have pursued these cases throughout. In local circles, it is believed that had it not been for the pursuance of the cases by the Bishnois, Salman would have easily managed to wriggle himself out.
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As legal troubles mounted for him, Salman Khan found solace in the corridors of Bina Kak, who claimed she found her long lost son in him. Often spotted at the official plush Civil Lines residence of Bina Kak, everyone who belonged to the power circles of Jaipur, had a fair idea about Kak and Salman's growing affinity. Salman's umpteen visits to Kak's residence were not hidden. Their families grew close to each other. Salman, his brothers Arbaaz and Sohail shook more than a leg at the weddings of Ankur Kak and Amrita Kak, Bina's son and daughter. Both sides made no bones about it as Kak even went to meet Salman when he was released from jail after his brief incarceration in 2006 in Jodhpur.
For Bina, acting in big banner movies had been a dream unfulfilled since her young theatre days. And as her 'deep bond' with Salman Khan became stronger, plum roles began coming her way. Among several others, she played the mercurial mother to Salman Khan's on-screen persona in the movie - Maine Pyaar Kyon Kiya. And as it often happens, when things stay within a family, they really do stay within a family. Bina's daughter, Amrita Kak, got to sing more than a few songs in movies starring Salman Khan or being made by his producer friends in Bollywood. Some of them included 'Character Dheela Hai', 'Just Chill', 'Love Me Love Me', 'Dhinka Chika'.
Tongues began lashing hinting that this growing bonhomie was the result of a mutually beneficial relationship. Evidently, Bina Kak was the Forest Minister, a ministry responsible for the protection of wildlife in Rajasthan. Salman Khan was an accused in the eyes of law. The Bishnoi community was baying for him. Her detractors allege it was during her tenure that the government went slow in the pursuance of Salman's cases. It is a charge that Bina Kak refutes.
"By the time it came to our knowledge, it was already sub-judice. And how could anyone help? I was a Forest Minister, but much later. How could I help?", Kak told India Today.