Salman Khan arrived in style to announce the 68th Hyundai Filmfare Awards 2023 with Maharashtra Tourism on Wednesday evening. The actor is all set to host the grand show for the very first time, along with co-host Maniesh Paul. The awards night will take place on April 27 in Mumbai, and will be broadcast on Colors on April 28 at 9 pm.

Set to enthral the audience with his witty sense of humour and charming antics, Salman, who’s looking forward to playing host at the show, said, “As someone who has been a part of the film industry for many years, I can confidently say that Filmfare has played a significant role in the growth of this industry. It is with great excitement that I present the latest edition of the Filmfare Awards to our fans and followers around the world.”

Salman says, “As the host for this edition, my top priority is to ensure that everyone has a great time. It’s not about me, but about the audience. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Filmfare team for creating such an incredible platform that recognizes talent and performance year after year with unparalleled passion and enthusiasm.”

Salman also took the opportunity to address various topics centred around the entertainment industry. Talking about the need for more theatres to exhibit films, he said, “Earlier, we used to have far more theatres than we have now. A huge number of theatres have shut down across states. We should have more theatres as it will result in more revenue for everyone. It is more taxes for the government as more films can come in. Let’s see when that happens.”

Sharing his thoughts on various states offering rebates for film shoots, which help reduce production costs, the actor-producer said, “We have the industry based here in Maharashtra. Now Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana have opened up and are giving rebates, so production of films has gone up as rebates for smaller films make a huge difference.”

On a lighter note, when quizzed, who among the younger actors he thinks are promising, he replied saying, “All of the new ones are talented, hardworking, and focused, but then the five of us – Shah Rukh, Aamir, Akshay, Ajay and I – are not going to give up so easily. We will make them run for their money. We will tire them out (laughs!).”