Salman air dashes to Pune following SOS

Saves the day for brother-in-law and Bodyguard producer Atul Agnihotri.

Of late, it’s become common for actors to charter a chopper to fly them to an outdoor location. Recently, Salman Khan air dashed from Jaipur after a couple of charity events to the shoot of brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri’s maiden production, Bodyguard, in Pune. What made this flight different was that Khan was not required that day. Director Siddique Lal had planned on canning Kareena Kapoor’s solo portions.
Unfortunately, Kapoor fell ill and since Khan wasn’t expected back before late evening, shooting ground to a halt.

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There was a crew of nearly 200 people and dozens of extras milling around, twiddling their thumbs. Agnihotri, who was in a tizzy, finally sent an SOS to Khan. And in true ‘hero’ style, he flagged off the Jaipur marathon and took the same helicopter that had flown him to the Pink City that morning back to Pune.

Time saver

And to save time, he requested the pilot to land at the Symbiosis Institute of Management, so that they wouldn’t waste time driving there from airport.

Agnihotri confirmed the news, “Yes, Salman bhai saved a day’s shooting for us after Kareena fell ill and was advised two days’ bed rest. We were canning a song that day and so I didn’t have a supporting cast to fall back on. I requested Salman bhai to return early and he was back by the time we’d finished lunch. And we shot some solo portions with him.”

The film is an Eid release and will open on August 21.