/> Bollywood star Salman Khan Saturday left for Jodhpur to surrender before a district court that has issued an arrest warrant against him for hunting an endangered chinkara deer nine years ago.

"I have full faith in the law of the land and I will abide by (its ruling). I am going to Jodhpur to surrender," Salman told reporters outside his Bandra residence here.

Hundreds of his fans had gathered outside his home as Salman, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans and sporting sunglasses, drove to the airport.

The 41-year-old actor is to take a Jet Airways flight scheduled to reach Jodhpur at 12.30 p.m. Salman's lawyers are likely to file for his bail application as soon as he surrenders.

In a show of solidarity, Salman's friends from the Bollywood fraternity streamed into his house 'Galaxy' through the night Friday.

There was a deep-rooted distress all around when news of Salman's 5-year sentence reached Mumbai.

"Shit! First Sanjay Dutt, now Salman....One comes out, the other is ordered to go in. He doesn't deserve this," said one of his steady female co-stars before hastily adding, "Please don't quote me on this."

The producer most immediately and directly affected is Boney Kapoor in whose Wanted Dead & Alive (a remake of the Telugu blockbuster Pokhiri) Salman has been working for the past one month.

What happens to the film now?

"The sentence isn't a bolt from the blue," says Boney calmly. 'We went into it with our eyes open. I wanted only Salman for this role, and given a chance I'd still not change my decision to have Salman. He's my 4 am friend. I remember how he stood by me when I was financially challenged during No Entry. "

Boney who was shooting Wanted Dead & Alive in Hyderabad says, "We've been shooting since 23 rd July. In all we've completed 25 percent of the film in Thailand where we shot two songs, and Hyderabad where we've completed a large number of key scenes including the film's biggest action sequence. Now the next schedule is in October."

Anything can happen by then. And Boney, like all of Salman's well-wishers, has his fingers crossed. "My director Prabhu Deva, Salman and I have had lots of fun shooting this film. Actually Prabhu Deva and Salman go back a long way.

Prabhu has choreographed many of Salman's songs, and he has also choreographed some of my best numbers including Que sera sera in Pukar and a song in Shakti. In both Prabhu danced personally on screen."

How is Prabhu Deva as a director? "He and Salman got along like a house on fire. Shooting with Salman is always exciting. There's never a dull moment."

As for the impending incarceration... "These things happen. I won't let it bog me down. We all need to stand by Salman. I'm sure my film will be completed.

But right now there're bigger issues....and by the way, the first schedule of my film directed by Anees Bazmi with Harman Baweja in Norway was completed simultaneously."

Is that a Sanjay or a Boney Kapoor production? "They're the one and the same," says Boney, and chooses not to add that his other brother Anil whose career Boney nurtured closely, is now a producer independent of Boney. Salman Khan is always surrounded with some or the other problem and knowing or unknowingly he gets caught in a controversy. It seems Salman and Controversy are the two sides of the same coin.

Lower Court rejected Salman's plea and upheld the five years imprisonment given to him by a Lower Court in Jodhpur. Salman Khan is most likely to surrender on Monday as he is away shooting for his movies now.

Let's take a sneak peak about controversies Salman was involved in

• Salman Khan got involved in legal matters in 1997 when he was involved in a Chinkara poaching case in Ghoda farms in Rajasthan on October 11, 1997.

• In 1998, the second one came when he killed two black bucks which is endangered species and aklso illegal to kill. He shot them when he was in Rajasthan while shooting for Hum saath saath hain in Rajasthan.when Salman and several co-stars went hunting in the nearby Thar Desert. The group strayed into a Bishnoi-dominated area.

• In 1999, there was news all over that Salman had physically abused his then girlfriend Aishwarya Rai and to add to it Rai family lodged a complaint that "should not be held responsible for any untoward incident involving the actor." Salman was earlier also accused of abusing her Pakistani girlfriend Somy Ali and hence Aishwearya's case added to it.

• After that Salman was accused of harassing Vivek Oberoi, who was Aishwarya's then boyfriend and was dating Vivek Oberoi then. It is believed that Khan had made numerous obscene and angry calls and sent 41 smses to Vivek in one night that irritated Vivek arranged a press conference for the same.

• All these did not end and in 2002 Salman was caught in the biggest case of his life. He was charged of killing one person and injuring three others when Khan was heavily drunk and was drove the car on the group of people sleeping on the pavement at a bakery in Bandra on September 28th.

There was also a policeman in Khan's car and despite this Khan absconded from the scene. It was later that he confessed that he was scared that the mob gathered there can danger his life and hence he left that place.

• On February 17, 2006, the Chinkara case got Salman back into the limelight. He was sentenced to one year in prison for hunting the Chinkara, which is an endangered species. The sentence was stayed by a higher court during appeal.

• On April 10, 2006, Salman was sentenced five year jail term for hunting the endangered Chinkara. He was remanded to Jodhpur jail, and remained there until April 13, when he was granted bail.

The case came up for hearing today (Aug 24) and as things stand Khan will be heading to jail on Monday, August 27th 2007. - Anju Gupta