Did You Know: Salman Khan Was Not 1st Choice To Play ‘Chulbul Pandey’ In 'Dabangg'
Did you know that Salman Khan was not the first choice to play ‘Chulbul Pandey’ in 'Dabangg'. Any guesses who was?
'Dabangg' is one of the most iconic movies of Salman Khan's career and he made the character of ‘Chulbul Pandey’ his very own. It is hard to imagine someone else playing the role of ‘Chulbul Pandey’, however, did you know that the first choice for this iconic character was not Salman Khan? Yes, you read that right! In an old interview with Mumbai Mirror, Salman Khan's brother Arbaaz Khan had said that the first choice for ‘Chulbul Pandey’ was late Irrfan Khan or Randeep Hooda.
Arbaaz Khan had said that both Irrfan and Randeep were not available, and it was then that he suggested the director Abhinav Kashyap, the name of Salman Khan. The director was then left excited and things eventually fell into place.
For the unversed, Arbaaz Khan had played the role of ‘Makkhi’ in 'Dabangg', and he played the character of Salman Khan's brother.
'Dabangg' had released in 2010 and the movie starred Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood, Om Puri, Dimple Kapadia, Vinod Khanna, Anupam Kher, Mahesh Manjrekar and Mahie Gill.
The film was then followed by two sequels in the form of 'Dabangg 2 (2012)', and 'Dabangg 3 (2019)'.
Talking about Salman Khan, the actor will next be seen in 'Tiger 3', alongside Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi. The movie will be releasing in theatres on November 12, 2023.
Talking to Variety, Salman Khan said, "Audiences have a connection with Tiger, they have followed his journey, they feel a connection with the characters and this time around the film is more personal, more emotional. Plus it is releasing on Diwali day, so we are hoping the audiences enjoy the fireworks on the big screen and enjoy this entertainer with their family in theaters."
‘Tiger 3’ is an action spectacle and is a big screen experience. The last couple of months have been fantastic for Indian cinema and we are now really excited that “Tiger 3” is releasing. Audiences have a connection with Tiger," he added.
As per industry tracker, the fifth installment of the YRF Spy Universe has already sold tickets worth Rs 12.4 crore, across formats and languages.
