Salman Khan is ready to pack a ‘power’ful punch yet again. After making 10 Ka Dum a success the first time around, the Bollywood actor is returning as the host of the Sony TV game show’s second season.

On Thursday, Salman said he agreed to return to the small screen only because the audiences loved his game show.

At a conference organised by Sony Entertainment to announce its new programming, he said that the onus of inviting celebrities will now be on the channel and not on him.

“Sony is taking care of the celebrities because I have few friends left in the industry. I will try to get those on the show,” he said.

Among these is believed to be Mallika Sherawat, who media reports said has been paid an obscene Rs 50 lakh to appear on 10 Ka Dum.

They said Mallika will be shooting for on May 24 for the game show. Rumours are also rife that the celebrated Kapoor sisters Karisma and Kareena are keen on appearing on 10 Ka Dum. Karisma has starred with Salman in films such as Biwi No 1, Andaz Apna Apna and Judwaa. Kareena, on the other hand, is doing Main Aur Mrs Khanna with the actor.

“Both girls have always refused invitations by reality shows earlier to appear together. But they made an exception for Salman,” a source close to the Kapoor family was quoted as saying. Their actor cousin Ranbir Kapoor had participated in the first season of 10 Ka Dum.

During the first season, the show clashed directly with Salman’s friend-turned-foe Shah Rukh Khan’s Kya Aap Paachvi Paas Se Tez Hain?. However, 10 Ka Dum managed higher TRPs than Shah Rukh’s show and even boosted Sony TV’s position in the television pecking order. The first season featured a number of celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherji.

Salman said he was excited about interacting with his fans yet again. “I am my usual self on the show. The way I interacted with the audience is the way I talk to my fans. Just because you saw it on TV, it looked novel,” he said. The first episode of the second season will air on May 25.