Salman Khan greets fans on the balcony of his house in Mumbai on May 8
In a tweet late Friday, convicted actor Salman Khan thanked well-wishers for their prayer and support. It was the first public utterance he has made since being handed a five-year jail term for culpable homicide not amounting to murder on Wednesday.
Some hours before his tweet, the actor had come home from court a free man. The Bombay High Court suspended his five-year jail term and the hundreds of fans dancing and setting of fireworks outside the actor's home were rewarded by a lengthy glimpse of him as he returned after completing bail formalities in the Sessions Court that had convicted him.
The 49-year-old actor finally took official notice of the crowd camped outside his home, greeting his public with a namaste, a salute and a three-fingered victory sign.
With him were his parents, Salim and Salma Khan, brother Arbaaz and sister Arpita.
On Wednesday, a court decided that the Dabangg star was guilty of driving drunk and without a licence in a 2002 hit-and-run which killed one and injured four. On Friday, the High Court decided not to send him to jail until his appeal is heard in July. Fans gave his homecoming the sort of welcome usually reserved for one of his blockbuster films. A trending hashtag on Twitter - #SalmanFridayRelease - agreed that this was probably the biggest Friday for the actor.
Meanwhile, Salman is expected to rejoin the shoot in Kashmir that he interrupted to fly home for the verdict. He will likely resume filming director Kabir Khan's
Bajrangi Bhaijaan, co-starring Kareena Kapoor, in the Valley on Sunday.