Salman’s parents outside the jail on Monday. (PTI)

Jodhpur, Aug. 27: Lodged in barracks No. 1.5 of Jodhpur Central Jail with only a fan to battle the scorching heat, Salman Khan is probably wishing real life was like his film Judwa, where he conned the cops and got away.

Stuck in jail for at least two more days — Rajasthan High Court declined to hear his bail application today and will take it up on Wednesday — the actor seems to be delving into a different creative side.

Never an avid reader, Salman is believed to have borrowed books from the jail library. But no more light fiction for the macho star. Salman has moved on to spirituality after spending his first night reading a novel. Sources said the book by his bedside is God Speaks by Meher Baba.

While officials were tight-lipped about their star prisoner, a rash of rumours also did the rounds. “He is sketching,” went one such whisper. “After drawing, he fills it out with colour pencils. He is also joking with other prisoners.”

Day Three behind bars has been testing for Salman, serving a five-year term for killing a chinkara in 1998.

First came the bail blow, then his parents — Salim Khan and Salma — who had flown in this morning and brother Sohail were not allowed to meet him.

They arrived at 5pm and the senior jail superintendent is believed to have turned them down. Under the rules, relatives can meet prisoners only between 9am and 11am on Sundays.

“He had promised to consider their application, but later said he was bound by the law,” said a source.

Salma, who had to be rushed to hospital the last time the actor was jailed, struggled to walk as her husband and son tried to convince the superintendent for 20 minutes to let them in on compassionate grounds.

Salman’s trusted aide Shera, dressed in blue jeans and blue T-shirt, waited patiently outside. The star’s shadow for years, Shera said he believed Salman was coping well in jail. “He is okay. He has to be okay. He has no choice.”

Prison authorities may insist that Sallu bhai is an ordinary “qaidi”, but his steady stream of visitors has not gone down well with some people.

The much-publicised visit of girlfriend Katrina Kaif, sister Alvira and brother Sohail yesterday and the VIP treatment they were lavished angered parents who had come from different parts of the country to see their jailed sons.

“Why are we made to suffer like this?” asked an elderly man. “Is it because our sons are not stars?”