Salman Khan on plans to take the Dabangg franchise forward even after a prequel; bringing Chulbul, Radhe and Devil in a crossover film and being approached by Farhan Akhtar with a script
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 12, 2019)

He arrives like the star he is. And instantly, the slumbering parking lot of Mehboob Studio comes alive. Flashbulbs pop as Bhai strikes a pose. There are journalists waiting to meet Salman Khan and a Bangladeshi cricketer too. He obliges some of those waiting, before beckoning you to take two chairs, one stacked on top of the other so you are at his eye level. Excerpts:

This time, we believe you have been credited with the story, screenplay and dialogue. What makes Dabangg 3 different from the earlier two films?
When I heard the story of the first Dabangg, which Dilip Shukla had written, I liked the plot but thought the character wasn’t noble. There were no songs, he was grey, corrupt and ruthless. I changed him into the Chulbul Pandey you see, and it worked. There was a lot of angst. The mother passes away, after which he accepts his father and brother as family. That script was not mine; we retained the mota mota plot and made the scenes more massy and today, with a different kind of swagger. If you were to meet Chulbul on the road, toh aap usey maroge because he’ll appear arrogant and badtameez. But on screen, you like him. He does tedha things but for the right reasons. Like the zehreela sharab scene in Dabangg was negative but uska fayda was positive.

In Dabangg 2, they wanted just Chulbul, without the family. I argued that Chulbul worked because of his mother, father, Makkhan Chand Pandey, Bobby ji, Tiwari ji, Pichkari ji, Rajjo, everyone. How could I take them out? So, we retained them.

The third part is about how Chulbul became the man he is. We’ve dug up his past, there’s pain. It’s an emotional vendetta story.

At a time when filmmakers are struggling with sequels, you’re coming with a prequel…
We have Dabangg 4 written too.

Yeah you are going up to Dabangg 743 as you mentioned in our last interview. Seriously, how do these ideas happen?
(Laughs) They just come about. Sometimes, one film gives you an idea for the next. In Dabangg 3, we explore why Rajjo’s father was an alcoholic and how Chulbul met her. Aap jab picture dekhoge toh aapko samajh mein aayega kahan kahan se nikle hain hum.

After two films, today, the minute I walk into the Dabangg set, I stop being Salman Khan, the actor, and become Chulbul Pandey. Ditto, Sonakshi who transforms instantly into Rajjo. That’s how it is with the whole cast; we’ve become a real family.

Do you have a personal connection with Chulbul?
Well, I’m writing it, playing the character, so there has to be some thought behind it.

The director this time is Prabhudheva and he knows the pulse of the audience…
Yeah, that’s why he’s in the film. Arbaaz (Khan, brother and the director of Dabangg 2) would take time to understand, his BP would shoot up and down. So, this time, the first thing he said was that he wouldn’t direct the film and we should get someone else. I suggested Prabhu, and his reaction was, “Fantastic!” Prabhu is very receptive, he gets what I want to say in a second. Language is a problem with him, so I have to explain things to him, but once he gets it, he executes it beautifully... Larger-than-life, with humour and emotion. Bang on! With a film like Dabangg, we go from high point to high point. We’re not pakaoing anyone. The message comes through the scenes.

Even before Dabangg 3 was complete, you announced Radhe with Prabhu. Obviously, you have a lot of confidence in him and he reiterates you share a great equation, which is rare...
Yes, we have a good working relationship and I believe one shouldn’t spoil that. We were looking for a director for Radhe. My friend Prashant suggested Prabhu. I recalled he had told me that after Dabangg 3, he was going on a two-month holiday, but Prashant urged me to speak to him and Prabhu agreed. The script was halfway through. I was working on a film at the time... I don’t remember the name... and it was to come out on Eid, which didn’t happen…

Inshallah with Sanjay Leela Bhansali? Wasn’t that the film?
Inshallah… Inshallah… Radhe is happening Inshallah on Eid. We are working day in and day out to put it out on Eid.

You were saying Radhe’s script was ready…
With us, plots are always ready, then, they evolve. You write at home, in a hotel or an office. But then, when you come on the sets, the story changes with the setting.

Radhe is also your story?
No, but we have made a lot of changes.

Eid is your date…
No, it’s not, it’s nobody’s date, anyone is welcome to release a film on the day. It’s just that my films happen to come on Eid. Actually, my last film, Bharat, released during Ramadan, three days before Eid. And now, Dabangg 3 is arriving on Christmas. I’ve had releases during Diwali and Republic Day too. Any festive day is a good day.

Next Eid, Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb is releasing with Radhe...
Yes, and there is scope for another two-three films to come on that day. Then, the audience decides which film to spend on. Agar picture achhi lagi, they will watch it. If they don’t, toh nahin dekhenge, festive date ho ya koi bhi date ho.

Bharat has made a lot of money at the box-office. But do you think the scale of the film magnified the expectations?
Not really. I just thought towards the end, the father should have come back. That was my problem with the film. But aaj kal ke yeh new people think that a reunion with the father is a cliché. Father ki age kya hogi? Uski story kya hogi? I don’t give a damn, he should have come back.

Yes, the film did phenomenal business, my sister (Alvira) is happy, we’re happy with the product. But if we had shown a 70-year-old man and a 90-year-old man having a conversation, it would have been a more emotionally satisfying film. Bharat’s whole journey was about him waiting for his father to come back to him. So, for me, the film looked incomplete.

Talking about fathers, Salim Khan saab recently said that Farhan Akhtar has come to you with a script and you have liked it. Is the film happening?
I don’t know. Farhan has come to me with a script and I like him. He is like a kid brother; he has grown up with us. That bond will always be there with Zoya (Akhtar) and him. They are like my younger siblings.

Rohit Shetty and you have been talking too. Will Chulbul Pandey join Rohit’s cop universe, with Singham and Simmba?
Chulbul is a universe within himself. So is Singham.

This is a separate film, then?
Nothing’s finalised. We’ve been talking about other things too.

But Kick 2 is definitely happening and we are told it could arrive in December 2021?
It could.

How does it feel to bring Devil back? He has his own fans...
Yeah, one thing I want to do later is bring Kick’s Devil, Dabangg’s Chulbul Pandey and Radhe together.

That’s a wonderful idea. If The Avengers can do it, why not Salman Khan. Are you joking or is it a possibility?
No, I have something in mind.

Kick is Sajid’s film. He is not just a producer but a good friend...
Yes, he’s like a brother to us.

And what is it like bringing him back as a director?
(Laughs) He didn’t even know he was directing Kick, he got to know on Twitter.

You have introduced several newcomers to Hindi cinema, not just technicians but actors, too. From Sonakshi Sinha to Saiee Manjrekar now...
Saiee is a sigh of relief for the industry. Watch out for her.

We have heard that she is playing a mute in the film, no dialogue, speechless… True?
Nooo, you guys will be speechless when you see her. I’d introduced Sonakshi at an award show and this time too, I took Saiee along. As soon as we faced the paparazzi, they started saying, we want solo pictures of her. So, I thought, ho gaya Saiee ka. Rocket Singh, straight out! Then, I heard this comment, “Saiee, tu sahi aahes.”

We thought you were introducing Saiee’s sister, Ashwami? Are you?
We don’t have anything right now, but she is very talented.

How does Bigg Boss feel after all these years? It’s become a part of you?
Yeah, a part of mine wants to cut that part and throw it out and the other part wants to keep it. And the latter is haavi on the part that wants to throw it out.

You don’t like the show?
I like it. It gets stressful, but I learn a lot. And I get to know where the country is going, what is happening to values, morals, scruples and principles. We see it right there, with celebrities. The beauty is once they are out of the house, they are not like that at all. It’s not as if they are giving performances, the house makes them like that.

Has being in a particular place changed your personality?
No.

What’s happening with Sohail Khan’s film Sher Khan?
That film requires a lot of visual effects. After it is shot, it will take six-eight months, almost a year, for it to be ready. After the next two-three films, Sher Khan goes on the floors. It’s beautiful.

I’m not going to ask you about marriage this time…
Okay.

…But whenever I see you with kids, I feel a child is missing out on a really good father.
Even I feel that way.

Are there plans of having a child through adoption, surrogacy, though that’s outlawed...
No, not yet.

So, no plans?
No, when it happens, it happens.

How will it happen?
(With a straight face) I can’t describe the whole process to you.

What I mean is that you don’t want to get married or adopt…
There are enough kids in the house. Another child will be born now, in December.

Would you like to raise your sister Arpita’s child?
No, Arpita does a fantastic job of raising her child, in fact, she is raising all of us correctly right now.

Your dad, even at 84, is all there…
Yeah, because there were five of us, and now many more, so he has to be all there.

It’s wonderful how he knows everything that is happening with all your projects.
I share things with him when he is sitting across the table, tell him the basic plot. He will say, “Yeh galat hai, isey nikalo.” When he sees the film, too, there are times he says, “Yahaan mazaa nahin aa raha hai, isey nikalo.” Some bits we do listen to.

Did he have any suggestions for Dabangg 3?
No.