An Indian court has convicted Bollywood superstar Salman Khan of poaching and sentenced him to five years' jail, in a move that could derail his multi-million-dollar career.
Indian antelope, also known as blackbuck, are an endangered species protected under Indian law.
Khan shot and killed two Indian antelopes when he went to Rajasthan on a shooting trip with friends in 1998.
Members of a local, nature-worshipping religious sect called Bishnoi filed a complaint against Khan.
It has taken 20 years for the case to reach its conclusion.
Four other actors who joined Khan on the hunting trip were let off.
Despite being handed a jail sentence, the 52-year-old, who the judge called a "habitual offender", will likely be released on bail as he appeals the conviction.
"He has filed an appeal and the appellate court will decide whether they will hear the appeal tomorrow or at another date," prosecutor Bhawani Singh Bhati said.
Bollywood quickly rallied to Khan's defence.
"My heart goes out to [Khan] … I feel this is too harsh," actor Arjun Rampal said on Twitter.
His next film, Race 3, is an action thriller scheduled for release later in the year.
The court's ruling against Khan, who has 32.5 million followers on Twitter and was promoting his movie last week, sparked worries among Bollywood traders.
"If he doesn't get bail, then the jail term will have repercussions," said Girish Johar, a trade analyst.
"He is a big star, and has a lot of big films lined up, all scheduled to be released over the next two years."
Khan previously escaped conviction for deadly hit-and-run
Khan was the world's ninth-highest-paid actor, raking in $48 million last year, according to Forbes.
That was despite several brushes with the law during his career.
In 2015, he escaped a conviction in a hit-and-run case where he was accused of running over a group of people sleeping on a sidewalk in a wealthy area of Mumbai, killing one and injuring four.
The scandals have not hurt his career or fame — films he stars in regularly make millions of dollars.
Earlier this year, a known Rajasthani criminal and extortionist who is also a member of the Bishnoi sect threatened to kill Khan if he returned to the area where he killed the antelope.
The threat sent local police into a panic, and they publicly announced they would take extra security measures to protect the superstar actor.
