Kabir Khan Opens Up On Having “Tussle” With Salman Khan On ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ Sets
Kabir Khan looked back on his time collaborating with Salman Khan on ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, opening up about the hurdles and creative differences they encountered.
Over the years, Salman Khan and director Kabir Khan have delivered box office gold with films like ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ and ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, making them one of Bollywood’s most successful actor-director duos. With fans eagerly awaiting a sequel to ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, Kabir Khan recently got candid about what it’s really like working with a megastar like Salman. In a candid conversation, he reflected on the creative challenges of their collaborations and even recalled clashes they had during the early days of filming ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, shedding light on the dynamics behind the camera.
While speaking about the same with India TV, he recalled having a “tussle” with Salman when they began shooting ‘Ek Tha Tiger’.
“He (Aditya) told me, ‘Kabir, making a film with a big star is a different beast and a different kind of film altogether, and I feel that you can now step up to that.’ Then we wrote Tiger. I never consciously thought that I would have to do something in a specific way just because Salman was in it,” Kabir Khan told India TV.
“It’s just that the storyteller in me wanted to do certain things because I knew he could carry it off. In a certain sense, fan service also starts to come in when you have a star in front of you and you know you can do all these things with someone of Salman’s calibre,” he added.
Kabir Khan then recalled how he had a big tussle with Salman Khan once he arrived on the sets of 'Ek Tha Tiger'.
“It was just the third film of my career, and here I was dealing with Salman at his peak. It was also his first time working with Yash Raj Films, and it was a new territory for him — action, and we were trying to make it international, so a lot of churning happened,” said Kabir Khan.
“Sometimes I had to pull him down and stop him from going overboard; sometimes he was pulling me up to do more. Some discussions were amicable, and some left one of us sulking. Even though Tiger was not completely in my control, I feel that something interesting happened between the two of us — the energy that formed between us,” he added.
For the unversed, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ was the first installment of the YRF Spy Universe. Directed by Kabir Khan, the film also starred Katrina Kaif, Ranvir Shorey, Roshan Seth, Girish Karnad, and Gavie Chahal in key roles.
The film marked the first collaboration between Yash Raj Films and Salman Khan.
Speaking of Salman Khan, he was last seen in AR Murugadoss' 'Sikandar'. The film, which also starred Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj, Kajal Aggarwal, Anjini Dhawan and Sharman Joshi, tanked miserably at the box office, earning just a little above Rs 100 crore in India. Despite being Salman's comeback to the big screen after a hiatus since 2023, ‘Sikandar’ failed to make a significant mark.
The actor will next be seen in another action film alongside Sanjay Dutt. He also has ‘Kick 2’, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, Kabir Khan recently directed a film in the anthology ‘My Melbourne’. It was released in India on March 14. He is yet to announce his next project.
