Bollywood star Salman Khan survives snakebite

Indian actor Salman Khan was attacked by a snake in his countryside home and spent six hours in hospital being treated for a possibly venomous bite, Indian media have reported.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, ahead of his 56th birthday on Monday, when he tried to remove the animal from the house with a stick, the actor told reporters.

Khan said he "picked up the snake with a lot of love and brought it out, and the snake wrapped itself on the stick and then it started climbing upwards."

After the snake bit him once, villagers had screamed out that he should be taken to hospital so loudly that it bit him again from fear of the commotion, he said.

He said he had been treated with antivenin at the hospital, kept under observation for six hours and then discharged.

The snake later turned out to be nonvenomous. It was released safely into the jungle after the encounter, Khan said.

Who is Salman Khan?

Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest and best-paid names, but has been at the center of a number of controversies, in tune with his bad-boy film image.

In 2015 he was found guilty of culpable homicide for a hit-and-run incident in 2002 in which a homeless man died, but his five-year sentence was overturned soon after by a higher court.

He also received a conviction in 2018 for shooting dead two rare antelopes on a hunting trip in 1998 but denied killing the animals.

AFP contributed to this report

Edited by: Rob Turner