October 30, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Bollywood star Salman Khan, who hosted two seasons of Sony TVs Dus Ka Dum, was not very interested to host the third season of the show due to channels lack of interest in hiking his fees. However, things have been settled between the star and the channel now and the original host Salman is back with the show.

Salmans growing popularity after Dabangg and Bigg Boss 4 has probably urged the channel to rethink on the issue. His mass drawing capability and ability to connect with the audience makes him the best choice for the show. The makers of the show realized that they can attract viewers towards the show only if Salman is associated with it.

The actor demanded a good hike in fees for hosting the show in the third season and this made the producers tensed. A source was quoted saying that the broadcasters called up Salman to say that they are ready to pay him the amount he has asked for. In fact, they tried to find a proper replacement of Salman but could not manage. Hence, they returned to the original host again and now Salman has also given his nod.

Salman is now hosting Colors reality show Bigg Boss 4 and is gaining higher TRPs than earlier season host megastar Amitabh Bachchan. However, this would not be a problem for Salman because he is not contract bound. He is free to do Dus Ka Dum and can return as a host of the next season of Bigg Boss.

The Dabangg star was reportedly getting Rs 89 crore for the 104 episodes of the first season. During the second season, Salman demanded a decent increment of Rs 44 crore but it did not happen as the channel convinced him showing a cash crunch due to recession.

Well, considering his constant success these days, a fee hike is definitely a reasonable demand!

--Sampurn Wire