Ranking among the favourite whipping boys of the media, Salman Khan, aka Chulbul Pandey of 'Dabangg', though, doesn't give a damn! Quite like his character in the Abhinav Pandey helmed flick, that has already caught the collective fancy of cine goers with its promos.
The maiden production of Arbaaz Khan, wherein Salman shares frames with newbie Sonakshi Sinha, has cinephiles eagerly awaiting its Eid release. Incidentally, the nick 'Robin Hood Pandey' crafted by Salman for his character has found favour with the classes and masses, alike.
With its blend of romance, catchy chartbusters ('Munni badnaam hui'; 'tere mast mast do nain') and high voltage action, 'Dabangg' promises to be a full on entertainer, aimed at setting the cash registers ringing furiously. Amid the flurry of inter phews and sound bytes sits Salman Khan, Emperor like, often responding to queries with blunt humour.
Q: How did 'Dabangg' come about?
A: Arbaaz got the script to me, so the script already existed and obviously was written by Abhinav. Taking Abhinav Kashyap as a writer and taking some other director doesn't suit us. Arbaaz is the same for me as the other producers I have worked with. The script is the most important thing in the film and we got it right. Abhinav did not have anyone to produce the film so Arbaaz thought of producing the film himself which we thought it was a good idea. And I think Sonakshi liked working with me.
Q: What's your take on the music, considering it's already topping charts…
A: About the music, you must have already listened to the numbers. When the music company is happy with those songs, then I don't think others should have any problem. The music company T Series is never happy with songs but they are very happy, they feel that the songs are being appreciated, especially 'Munni badnaam hui'
Q: It's being said that Katrina was earlier considered for 'Munni badnaam hui…'
A: I liked working with my sister in law Mallika. We felt that no one could do the song 'Munni badnam hui' better than her. Katrina was never considered for this song. Till date no song with a sister in law and the brother in law in it has got a hit. It is not my theory, but the media says it. Now we have got a PIL for 'Hindustan hui' and we have to bear that as well. Some or the organisation needs a topic and they got one word, so now they will talk about it and we will get a verdict for it.
Q: Your rival Shah Rukh Khan too has been praising the 'Dabangg' promos…
A: It is a good idea that Shah Rukh wants to watch the movie with his son.
Q: The industry buzz is that a 'Dabangg' sequel is already on the cards?
A: We are right now on Part 4 of 'Dabangg,' as part 2 and part 3 are already a hit like Part 1 (laughs). After the movie releases on the 10th, depending on how the audience reacts, we will decide whether to make a Part 2. We think every film is a 'Mughal e Azam' or 'Sholay' or 'Dilwale Dhulaniya le Jayenge' or '3 idiots'. So every person who makes a film thinks that there cannot be a better film than this.
Q: Is 'Dabangg' only a top notch action film? Is there a good dose of romance in the film?
A: Who said this movie does not have romance, it has lots of romance. If an action film has no romance or emotion in it, then it has no sense! So if you feel you are going to watch an action film, we are also giving you romance.
Q: What's your take on organisations who are turning moral police too?
A: They are working hard for India. Their filing a petition is fair. There are many other words in the song. There is 'Munni', may be they call their daughter with that name and must have thought we have written that song for her. There is a word 'badnaam' so they must be thinking maybe it is for their family. Anybody may raise a PIL against anyone, but it doesn't make any sense at all. Now let's see whether it will make any sense once it goes in the court. They got a point here now which no one has objected to before and they must have thought it is a very good chance to earn quick bucks. There are many other films which have the title as 'Hindustan'; the lyrics have the word 'Hindustan'.
Q: You're gaining fame as an artist and Aamir is playing a painter too in a future film…
A: I don't know about Aamir becoming an artist in a film. The media will know it better. If Aamir has become an artist in the film, than he must have become better than me, because he takes everything seriously. If he is not perfect in anything, he won't do it. I recently saw him at TV promotion; he was playing tablas, piano and the drums also! I don't know when he learnt all this. So if he could learn all this, painting will be easy for him.
Q: Is there quite a bit of the U.P Bihar lingo used in the film?
A: Apart from me, everyone has used a little bit of it. It only sounds like a U.P Bihar style of language. But we have not used the actual language because there are many different languages used in places like Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and they are very less understood. So we if a person watching the movie will not understand the dialect, then he will not enjoy the movie. So we have only given the feel of U.P Bihar in a few words.
Q: According to you, who's 'dabangg' and fearless?
A: Everyone according to me is 'dabangg'. People in a specific position are 'dabangg', people who trying to reach that position are also 'dabangg'. People who do not stand a chance to reach that position but live their life normally are also 'dabangg'. So everyone is 'dabangg' in their own limit!
Q: Your character Chulbul Pandey in 'Dabangg' is also quite corrupt….
A: We have an opinion on policemen who are corrupt, have a potbelly; as shown in the movies, they are not punctual. We have shown their point of view. If their salary is handsome, then they don't need to be corrupt. But if they are getting less salary then they can do this to support their family. But this can be for any department, not only about the police dept. If someone is giving you something out of happiness then it is okay, but if you are forcefully taking it than it is wrong. It is not being corrupt or taking a bribe but that is extorting. So accepting something from a person as a gift within a limit, to support your family's basic needs like education, is fine. But when you cross that limit, then it is being corrupt and it reflects on your character, conscience and your greed. Inflation is increasing but not the salaries. So I think when inflation is going high, try to increase the salary also.
Q: Finally, what's your gut feeling about the film?
A: Everybody wants the film to do really well. Everybody has worked hard on the film for 150 or 200 days. So everybody will want the fruits of their hard work. If the audience accepts the film then it is a hit and we will be proved right. If they reject the film, then we we will be proved wrong. And it will flop, however hard we tried to make a nice film.
Q: There seems to be a new controversy with Nerolac Paints confronting you…
A: I am not aware of Nerolac paints confronting me. They have not called me.
Source: (wateen.net)