MID-DAY (October 4, 2017)

Tremors were felt in Bollywood when Salman Khan and his manager of many years, Reshma Shetty parted ways, earlier this year. Now, Amar Butala, chief operating officer of Salman Khan Films (SKF), has ended his association with the superstar. A key member of Khan's inner circle, Butala has joined Fox Star Studios as the chief acquisition officer. The announcement took Bollywood by surprise yesterday.

Tongues have been wagging about Butala's sudden decision to move away from the superstar, especially when Khan is slated to kickstart his next, Remo D'Souza's Race 3. He had supervised films like Hero (2015), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) and Tubelight (2017) during his stint with the company.

According to sources, Salman Khan is keen to put things in order on the production front after Tubelight's dismal performance at the box office earlier this year. Butala was earlier associated with UTV Studios and Balaji Pictures. He has also worked on films like Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010) and Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010). When contacted, Butala told mid-day, "Yes, I have joined Fox Star and will start working [with them] later this month."