Salman Khan, a mentor for many established as well as budding actors in tinsel town, has once again proved that he is a man of his words.
The 47-year-old actor has decided to launch veteran actor Aditya Pancholi's son Suraj, who was arrested in connection with the suicide of actress Jiah Khan, in the remake of the 1983 film "Hero".
Salman's decision on Suraj's Bollywood debut comes at a time when the industry was abuzz with rumours that the "Dabangg" star may give up the plan of launching the aspiring actor following his arrest last month.
Contrary to the rumours, Salman stood by his word and proved that the case will have nothing to do with Suraj's debut.
Announcing that they will go ahead with the project, filmmaker Subhash Ghai said, "Sooraj is not at fault and why should he be punished for it? He is a wonderful and potential actor. We had committed to him and we will stand by it. How can we go back? Salman Khan is not the person who will go back on his words," Press Trust of India reported.
Apart from Suraj, the remake of "Hero" will also feature actor Suniel Shetty's daughter Athiya. The original film had Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri playing the lead roles.
Ghai did not mention when the film would go on floors, but confirmed that they are going ahead with it. "We are making a film with him (Sooraj). I don't know when it will go on floors. I have to discuss it with Salman Khan. But definitely we are making the film with Sooraj," he said.
The announcement of Suraj's launch comes days after rumours surfaced that Salman had preponed the shooting of the film from next year to November 2013. It was also said that he has asked his entire team to commence the pre-production work at once.
Revealing details of the project a source close to the venture said, "Hero was supposed to begin shooting in January 2014. It will now start in November 2013. Salman has asked the entire team to get into a work-mode immediately. The script is being re-worked to suit today's times," DNA reported.
