Did You Kow Salman Khan Was Not The First Choice To Play The Role Of Chulbul Pandey?
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Salman Khan’s character as Chulbul Pandey from the Dabangg franchise has become one of the most iconic characters. His role as a kickass cop is much loved by his fans for his unmatchable swag and charm. However, did you know that Salman was not the first choice for the character?
While we cannot imagine any other actor in place of Salman playing the role of the kickass cop in the Dabangg franchise, director Abhinav Kashyap, who helmed the first part revealed, that Salman was not the first choice to play the role. Instead of him, the director was keen on casting Irrfan Khan or Randeep Hooda.
During an interview with Mumbai Mirror, producer Arbaaz Khan had said, “When Abhinav narrated the script to me, I asked him why he wasn’t offering me the role of the Robin Hood cop. But more than Chulbul, he saw me as Makkhi, which was an extension of my role in Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na. He was looking to cast Randeep Hooda or Irrfan Khan as the lead then but neither of them had been finalised. I offered to produce the film for him and asked him what if we got Salman on board as Pandey ji. He was instantly excited, and things quickly fell in place.”
Salman Khan was last seen in Dabangg 3, which marked the Bollywood debut of Mahesh Manjrekar’s daughter Saiee Manjrekar. Now the 54-year-old actor will be next seen in Prabhudheva directorial film Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. Reportedly, the film is the remake of Korean film, The Outlaws. Apart from Salman, the film also stars Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff, Randeep Hooda and Gautam Gulati in pivotal roles.
Initially, the film was scheduled for this Eid release, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the much-awaited Salman Khan film got delayed at the box office. Now fans can expect that the movie will now hit the marquee on Eid 2021.
Several previous reports stated that Salman’s film Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai is a tribute to Amitabh Bachchan’s cop act in Zanjeer (1973). Clarifying on the reports, director Prabhudeva told TOI, “Not in any direct way. But yes, both Inspector Vijay and Inspector Radhe are no-nonsense. They take their duty very seriously and they do not spare criminals.”
