He made a name for himself with quiet romantic roles. Lately it seems like Salman Khan's mission in life is to prove what makes him a great actor. Son of screenwriter Salim Khan (who co-wrote classics such as Sholay, Deewar, Zanjeer and Mr. India), Salman rose to fame as a gentle Romeo in the 1989 hit film Maine Pyar Kiya. He then starred in some of the biggest hits of the 90s, including Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!, Karan Arjun and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. In recent years, however, his off-screen drama has proven more compelling than any film. He has gone from trouble to trouble with the law, the media and his girlfriend, Miss World turned actress Aishwarya Rai. Columnists complained about his bad-boy ways. Religious fundamentalists protested against his taste in women (he was Muslim, Aishwarya Hindu). But all along, diehard fans swore he was simply misunderstood. He is now accused of manslaughter. And even those fans could reach their limit. The fall of 1998 marked the beginning of Salman's legal troubles. While in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, to shoot the song sequence "Mhare Hivda" for Yashraj's Hum Saath Saath Hain, he and several co-stars went hunting in the nearby Thar Desert. The group got lost in a Bishnoi reserve, where Salman shot a black fallow deer, a member of an endangered species that is illegal to hunt. The Bishnoi – being a tribe that believes in the sanctity of all life, and not the sanctity of movie stars – physically detained the actor, who was then thrown into prison by an unsympathetic magistrate. The scandal prompted journalists to reach for their pens, which they then used to draw an indelible black mark next to the actor's name. The media then turned their attention to his rocky relationship with Aishwarya Rai, who he began dating after starring opposite her in 1999's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. There were already rumors that Khan had physically abused a ex-girlfriend, Pakistani actress Somy Ali. Now the Rai family's alleged displeasure has fueled similar stories about his behavior with Aishwarya. The media gleefully reported news of Salman's late-night visits to Aishwarya's apartment: neighbors said he had been banging on Aishwarya's door for hours, shouting futile and furious demands to be let in. However, the rumor mills had no proof until early 2002, when Aishwarya's parents filed a complaint. with the Mumbai Police, alleging that a drunken Khan broke window panes and furniture in Aishwarya's house and threatened the Rai family in general.