Film star berates Indian media

The actor says that he has been wrongfully convicted

Top Bollywood star Salman Khan has said he is "exploited" by the Indian media, and has blamed them for his "negative" off-screen portrayal.

Interviewed by the BBC Asian Network, the actor said "controversy after controversy" had been covered.

Khan said that while a section of the media wanted to write positive things about him, they were powerless.

The 41-year-old, who has a reputation for reckless behaviour, was found guilty earlier this year of poaching.

"There's a business section that wants to portray everything negatively so that they can sell magazines or get good top ratings on TV," Khan said of his "bad-boy" image.

'An example'

In June, the actor was charged with killing two black bucks, a protected antelope species, during a hunting trip in the state of Rajasthan in 1998.

And in April the actor was sentenced to a five-year jail term - currently under appeal - for a separate hunting incident also in Rajasthan.

Khan has been convicted of poaching black buck

He has always denied wrongdoing and is currently on bail while his appeal is being heard.

Khan said that his conviction was wrong, and that the judge only sentenced him because he wanted to make an example out of him.

"Apparently the judge said that openly," Khan said.

"They wanted to set an example out of me... Who knew the black buck? I mean today because of me, people know there's an endangered species of deer called black buck, well it's actually an antelope."

Slates fellow star

The poaching cases are not Salman Khan's first brush with the law. He is also facing trial in Mumbai (Bombay) in a 2002 hit-and-run case.

One person was killed and three others injured when Khan allegedly drove into a group of homeless people sleeping on a pavement.

Khan faces 10 charges, including causing death by negligent driving which carries two years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

In his interview with the BBC, the Bollywood icon also slated the latest movie offering of his friend, fellow Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.

He said that "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" (Never Say Goodbye), was a "move away" from Shah Rukh Khan's typical roles and he had advised against it.

"There's a lot of people out there who like him, and he moved away from his image, but it didn't work," Khan said.

Salman Khan gave his interview after performing in a concert in the UK.

The interview with Salman Khan, his girlfriend Katrina Kaif and brother Sohail Khan will be broadcast on the BBC Asian Network's Gagan Grewal show on Friday 1 September at 1900 BST.