Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; July 11, 2017)

It's final. Salman Khan’s ambitious film Tubelight has failed to impress both critics and fans, with the June 23 release bombing miserably at the box-office. The actor and his family have now agreed to compensate distributors for their losses. mid-day had earlier reported about a few distributors wanting to meet the actor, who is also the co- producer of Tubelight, to request him for a refund. The meeting was held on Saturday.

"The distributors met Salman at his home, where his father, Salim Khan, was also present. Salman has agreed to compensate them for their losses,” a source present at the meeting said. While the compensation amount hasn’t been disclosed yet, it’s believed to be close to Rs 60 crore.

When contacted, Salim Khan confirmed the news, saying, “When a distributor suffers a loss, the producer needs to show some responsibility and share the burden. We, too, have done the same thing. We met a few of them and are trying to find a middle ground. We will pay back the distributors.”

The veteran writer adds that the practice of returning the money to the distributors isn’t new. “We all have to work with each other in the future. So, it’s good that like-minded people come together and make a decision, which can be a win-win situation for both, the makers and distributors.”

In the past, South superstar Rajinikanth had famously compensated distributors for Lingaa’s (2014) failure at the box office, while Bollywood’s badshah Shah Rukh Khan paid distributors back for Dilwale  2015), Asoka (2001) and Paheli (2005).

Except for this year, Eid has always been the most lucrative time of the year for Salman Khan. His past releases, Sultan (2016), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Kick (2014), Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Bodyguard (2011), which hit screens on the festival, managed to rake in the moolah at the box office.