Birthday wishes come pouring in for Salman Khan

Mumbai: Bollywood star Salman Khan got his biggest birthday gift on Thursday as a Mumbai court exempted him from appearing before it in connection with the hearing on a petition accusing him of delaying the trial in the 2002 hit-and-run case.

The Bandra court exempted Salman from personal appearance as the actor celebrates his 47th birthday. It fixed January 30 as the next date for hearing.

From his "Maine Pyar Kiya" co-star Bhagyashree to his "Dabangg 2" director and brother Arbaaz Khan -- many celebrities from the Hindi film fraternity have wished "happiness" and "good health" for superstar Salman Khan, who celebrates his 47th birthday Thursday.

Here's what Bollywood's twitterati has wished for Salman:

Arbaaz Khan: Happy Birthday Salman! Wish you good health and happiness always. Thanks for being a great brother. Love you.

Karan Johar: Happy birthday Salman Khan. May the force be with you always!! Have a blessed year.

Sonakshi Sinha: Happy birthday Pandeyji

Sonu Sood: Salman Khan - Happy birthday bhai.

Kunal Kohli: Happy birthday to Salman Khan, who has entertained us through so many of his films. Here's to many more.

Bhagyashree: Salman Khan - To a special person who is a part of my fondest memories: Wish you a very happy birthday. Keep shining.

Rannvijay Singha: Bhai!! Salman Khan, happy birthday!!

Kabir Sadanand: Happy birthday to the man who outclasses the rest.

Neha Dhupia: Happy birthday Salman Khan... simply the best!

Divya Dutta: Happy birthday Salman Khan! Have a great one!

Mini Mathur: Happy birthday Salman Khan. The most real, fun person of all time

Bollywood's dabangg actor Salman Khan turns 47 today! We all would agree that this year has been fairly good for the actor and as he celebrates his birthday today, we take you through his ten best moments from 2012.

Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger creates history, crosses Rs. 200 crore

Ek Tha Tiger had not only opened to packed houses, the movie had set new records on the day 1 of its release. The Salman-Katrina starrer had broken the first day records of Hrithik's Agneepath and SRK's RA.One.

After making the fastest Rs. 100 cr at the Indian box office, Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger has reached another milestone. The film has crossed Rs. 200 cr mark after factoring in domestic as well as overseas BO. In India, The film collected Rs. 7 cr.

"EkThaTiger India + Overseas combined biz *after 2nd Weekend* is Rs. 210 cr +. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER," says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

The film has garnered Rs. 175 cr in India. "India Rankings TOP 3:- No 1 - #3Idiots [202 cr nett], No 2 - #EkThaTiger [175 cr nett, still counting], No 3 - #Bodyguard [148 cr nett]," adds Adarsh.

Salman Khan's Dabangg 2 opened to a big start and it continued to fare well at the box office despite the winter chills up north. Just three days later, the film's already earned over 60 crores.

The film fetched an excellent start on Friday earning 21.10 crore, it dipped on Saturday with 19.06 crore, but witnessed a massive growth on Sunday, earning approximately 24-25 crores (estimates; final total could vary).

Business was also affected in North India due to the cold wave. Elsewhere, the film has set new records. Overall, the 3-day total has been simply fantastic. The film collected approximately Rs. 64 crore to Rs. 65 crore nett in its opening weekend.

When almost every contemporary of his is trying to consolidate his place in the 100 crore club, Salman Khan is in a different zone altogether. While leading the pack in the century club with as many as four films already there, he is eyeing the much coveted 200 crore club with Dabangg 2.

"100 crore is passe now, not just for him but every superstar worth his salt. Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and now even Ranbir Kapoor has cracked it. Aamir anyway started it all. So for how long can one continue to bask in the glory of something which is fast becoming a trend and is almost a rule than being an exception. The new 'mantra' is 200 crore. Only Aamir is sitting pretty there after 3 Idiots. Now Salman is the one who can take a possible shot at that mark", comments an insider.

BIGG BOSS 6: Salman Khan becomes highest paid TV actor

No one can deny his star power on the big screen. But even as Salman Khan returned for the third consecutive season of Bigg Boss, we hear that his pay packet for the small screen too has gone up significantly.

After taking home Rs. 2.8 - Rs. 3 crore per episode last year, the actor will pocket a cool Rs. 3.8 to Rs. 4 crore per episode this time around. The earlier season had seen Sanjay Dutt play co-host as Salman was either busy shooting for Ek Tha Tiger or coping with his illness. This time, however, the star will be present from the start to finish and is being paid big bucks for this commitment.

Incidentally, this also makes Salman the highest-paid Bollywood actor on the tube, followed by Aamir Khan (Satyamev Jayate, Rs. 3 crore per episode), Shah Rukh Khan (Total Wipeout: Zor Ka Jhatka, Rs. 2 crore per episode), Hrithik Roshan (Just Dance, Rs. 2 crore per episode), and Akshay Kumar (Khatron Ke Khiladi season four, Rs. 1.5 crore per episode). Amitabh Bachchan, though, is in a different league altogether. He has signed a whopping deal of Rs. 100 crore for three seasons of Kaun Banega Crorepati

Salman Khan tops tax payers list

With Ek Tha Tiger touching a staggering Rs. 200 crores mark, Salman Khan has become the biggest star in Bollywood this year. While on the other hand, he has also emerged as the highest taxpayer in Bollywood, shelling out a whopping Rs. 8 crores for the September quarter.

The 47 year old actor surpassed the rest of the industry by paying a sum of Rs. 8 crores as advance tax in July-September this year, as compared to Rs. 5. crores in the same period last year.

While compared to Salman, other celebs have been more modest (Katrina Kaif- Rs. 2.6 crores, SRK-5 crores, Akshay Kumar- Rs. 7.5 crores), a marked increase from last year. However, Aamir Khan has notched a dip with just Rs. 3.25 crores as compared to Rs. 4.50 crores last year.

Salman Khan to buy new house, moves out of Galaxy apartments

Almost every Bollywood actor who makes a name for himself lives in a plush bungalow or at least a swanky apartment in Mumbai. All this while, superstar Salman Khan has been an exception to this rule. Salman has always lived with his family in his childhood home at Galaxy Apartments on Bandstand, Bandra. And were it not for the fans always waiting outside to catch a glimpse of the star, the modest Galaxy does not even come across as a Bollywood actor's residence.

But now, all that is set to change as the 47-year-old actor is set to move out of Galaxy in a year's time. "I have stayed here for as long as I could. Now I may stay here only for another year. We have a property, which we are constructing; that's where I will move," says Salman, without mentioning any details of his future address.

Salman Khan joins Facebook

After entertaining us with his tweets on Twitter, Salman Khan has now joined one of the most popular social networking sites- Facebook. The actor launched his official Facebook page and would be using this medium as his preferred platform to connect. Salman treated his fans to exclusive personal pictures and a preview of his much-awaited upcoming chain of 'Being Human' clothing stores.

Commenting on the launch of his official Facebook page, Salman Khan said, "To the many who asked me to join Facebook, lo main aa gaya. And to the few running fake sites, the party's over."

Salman Khan signs Sajid Nadiadwala's next with a whopping sum of Rs. 150 crore
Sajid Nadiadwala's upcoming action film with the star to be shot in the UK capital with a whopping budget of around Rs. 150 crore.

Over the past few years, Salman Khan has turned several places into veritable battle fields - Cuba and Dublin for Ek Tha Tiger; and closer home, north India's hinterlands for the Dabangg series; and the streets of Mumbai for Wanted (2008). Now, the latest destination is London, thanks to producer Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut, Kick.

Sajid's love for London as a location is well known, with his last two productions - Housefull (2010) and Housefull 2 - shot there. Now, he's all set to shoot Kick, besides the next Housefull installment, there. "I love shooting in London. The fact that I am back to shoot a third and a fourth film here is proof of that," he says.

Salman Khan to make films under Being Human banner

Next on Salman’s agenda is to help the foundation through his films. Salman Khan Being Human Productions made the 2011 film, Chillar Party. He now plans to produce Hindi remakes of two Marathi hits — Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho (2010) and Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy (2009). An insider tells us, “Salman wants to produce the remakes under the foundation’s banner. He hasn’t had the time to plan things out yet, but it’s in the pipeline.”

Salman Khan went to US for a health check

Salman Khan underwent a surgery for trigeminal neuralgia in August 2011. The super star flew to US to get the five-hour long procedure done. It took him a couple of weeks to bounce back.

After a year and four months the actor is set to fly back to US again but this time for a regular health check up, a daily has reported.

"Salman's condition needs him to undergo regular check ups. It's nothing serious. Just a routine follow up. He is fit and will start shooting Sohail's film soon," the daily quotes a source as saying.

Salman Khan finds inner peace

This year has been peaceful for Salman as far as controversies are concerned. The actor was infact spotted making peace with other co-stars. Oflate, Salman Khan is spotted hanging out with Abhishek Bachchan and the two had a warm chat at a recent party, even though Aishwarya was around. Looks like there is no tension between them anymore!

Salman was also seen spending quality time with filmmaker Karan Johar recently. The two were spotted sticking to eachother almost all the time at recently held Dabangg 2 premiere.

A source ssaid, “Karan stuck like glue to Salman. They remained inseparable throughout. It was shocking for many guests at the party considering that Karan is known to be a close friend of Salman’s archrival Shah Rukh Khan.”