Is this Salman Khan’s Last Ditch Effort to Save ‘Hero’?

Salman Khan uses his star power in a bid to boost ticket sales of ‘Hero’. Will it work?

Salman Khan goes all out to promote Hero with Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty (Photo: Yogen Shah)

After the huge success of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the first film produced under Salman Khan’s new production banner – Salman Khan Films, the star made sure that everyone sat up and took notice of their second venture.

Salman not only backed Hero as an indulgent producer would, but also put the might of his star power to ensure that Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty’s debut film was on top of the media and mind space.

Salman Khan with Athiya Shetty and Aditya Pancholi at a promotional event for Hero (Photo: Yogen Shah)

But there is only so much that any star can do to keep a bad film afloat. Hero opened to poor reviews and according to a report in the Financial Express, the day one occupancy rate of the film was 35% - 40%, which is just above average. With Welcome Back still strong at the box office, Salman Khan seems to have made a last ditch effort to make sure that people bought tickets for Hero over the weekend.

The star asked his followers on Twitter to watch Hero and send him their ticket. The idea is that Salman will sign 100 tickets, and you could be one of the lucky 100.

And of course any request from Salman had to have his snappy sense of humour:

Now, whoever in the film’s marketing team came up with the idea deserves a pat on the back, considering how intensely loyal Khan’s fans are. But it also reeks of a desperation the Dabangg star could have done without.