The
first
shock
of
looking
at
Salman
Khan
is
that
he
is
no
way
closer
to
his
character
Chulbul
Pandey
in
his
upcoming
film
Dabangg.
It's
only
when
you
hear
him
talk
that
his
many
dimensions
come
to
the
forefront.
Its
five
minutes
into
our
conversation
and
Khan
knocks
me
off
with
his
dare-devil
answers.
No,
he
ain't
a
pro-wrestler
with
a
torso
that
looks
as
if
it's
been
inflated
with
an
air
pump.
Oh
no.
But
he
does
sport
his
famous
silver
turquoise
bracelet
on
his
arm;
his
hair
side
parted
like
we
see
in
many
of
his
films
and
his
full
sleeve
black
shirt
showing
off
his
shiny
cufflinks
which
all
goes
to
say
that
today,
the
actor
looks
dangerously
demure.
But
then,
he's
also
Salman
Khan,
although
it
takes
another
five
minutes
before
I
accept
that
this
must
be
true.
Even
then,
this
realisation
comes
only
because
I
know
Salman
is
the
leading
man
in
the
film
and
that
Chulbul
Pandey
is,
indisputably,
the
leading
man
too.
So
where's
the
pretty
boy
with
the
sardonic
smile?
He's
gone
from
being
the
up-and-coming
young
talent,
talked
of
in
the
same
breath
as
Amitabh
Bachchan,
to
being
a
Bollywood
hell-raiser
tooling
around
town
in
his
black
SUV
with
a
fully
paid-up
entourage
wearing
gold
chains,
to
the
actor
who
threw
it
all
away
when
it
came
to
his
personal
relationships.
But
why
do
we
care
today
for
a
man
who
has
been
there
done
that?
Why
do
we
care
about
a
man
who
is
forty
plus
and
still
has
attitude
and
style
which
gives
birth
to
lethal
acting
prowess?
There
is
one
good
reason
-
Salman
Khan.
This
special
correspondent
gets
the
concession
of
meeting
the
actor,
who
has
inspired
hundreds,
advised
thousands,
loved
millions
but
respected
only
one
thing:
his
acting.
And
when
Dabangg
releases,
you
just
won't
regret
the
fondness
and
fascination
for
a
man
who
has
taken
all
the
above
in
his
stride.
Salman
Khan,
you're
unstoppable.
"Chulbul
is
totally
unpredictable"
Why
would
I
want
to
be
a
part
of
anything
similar
to
Wanted?
It's
strange
when
the
media
questions
me
about
Dabangg
being
the
sequel
to
Wanted.
I
couldn't
understand
the
character
when
I
first
started
playing
it.
I
couldn't
understand
how
one
could
get
into
emotion
and
from
emotion
get
into
comedy
and
from
comedy
get
into
action.
It
was
a
different
role
compared
to
any
of
my
previous
roles.
Once
I
started
playing
the
character,
I
think
it
was
a
lot
of
fun
because
Chulbul
was
totally
unpredictable.
"Chulbul
is
different
because
of
the
moustache"
I
knew
that
people
in
UP-Bihar
keep
moustaches
to
look
rougher,
tougher,
and
more
mature.
For
them
it's
the
symbol
of
'mardangi'
(manhood).
I
had
just
come
out
of
Veer
with
a
clean
shaven
look
with
long
hair.
I
saw
that
people
on
the
sets
too
had
moustaches
and
I
thought
that
all
my
life,
I've
had
a
clean
shaven
look.
I
tried
to
sport
the
moustache
but
wasn't
too
convinced.
That's
when
Sonakshi
Sinha
and
Vinod
Khanna
told
me
that
the
moustache
looked
good
on
me
and
different.
It
suited
the
character.
As
soon
as
I
finished
my
first
shot,
I
decided
not
to
take
the
moustache
off.
It's
a
strange
thing
but
the
moustache
does
lift
the
way
a
character
is
written.
Chulbul
is
different
because
of
the
moustache.
"I
believe
I'm
the
true
Robinhood"
In
the
film,
my
character
believes
that
he
is
the
true
Robinhood
of
that
locality
where
he
lives.
He
steals
from
the
rich
and
gives
to
the
poor.
He
is
still
funny
but
tough
too.
He
is
mad
but
not
insane.
He
is
like
Robinhood
but
an
Indian
one
(laughs).
"There
is
no
difference
between
my
fans
and
me"
I
am
no
different
from
my
fans
because
my
fans
and
friends
are
not
my
'chamchas'
or
'yes
men'.
They
tell
me
straight
out
if
they
don't
like
anything
about
my
trailer
or
my
role
or
anything
about
me
in
the
film.
But
the
fact
that
they
got
excited
seeing
the
promo
was
the
signal
for
me
that
Chulbul
was
going
to
be
a
hit.
I
also
showed
the
promo
to
everyone
in
my
house
and
they
all
loved
it.
Even
when
Veer
released
with
a
great
promo
but
didn't
find
its
good
luck
at
the
box
office
because
of
many
people
who
didn't
listen.
But
Dabangg
is
bang
on.
"Sonakshi
has
the
penchant
of
being
perfect"
Action
not
backed
with
romance
is
meaningless.
That's
where
Sonakshi
Sinha
comes
in
Dabangg.
She
is
looking
gorgeous
in
the
film.
I
know
Sonakshi's
family
very
well.
We
are
old
friends
and
I
know
her
potential.
She
will
go
a
very
long
way
after
Dabangg.
A
lot
of
people
look
very
good
in
a
saree.
Sridevi
looks
gorgeous,
Shilpa
Shetty
looks
beautiful
in
a
saree,
Katrina
looks
amazing
in
a
saree,
Sushmita
Sen
looks
superb
too
in
a
saree.
I
think
not
many
actresses
look
sexy
in
a
saree
and
Sonakshi
does
look
like
one.
You
also
need
to
know
that
the
audiences
haven't
seen
her
before.
So
the
first
look
of
Sonakshi
was
always
going
to
be
a
winner
all
the
way.
"I
have
learnt
the
word
called
'enthusiasm'
from
Sonakshi"
I
used
to
have
a
lot
of
fervour,
passion
and
enthusiasm
in
me
while
I
was
Sonakshi's
age.
Today,
unfortunately,
I
lack
it.
So
when
I
see
someone
so
enthusiastic
working
with
me,
I
don't
compete
with
that
co-star.
I
compete
with
enthusiasm.
Perhaps
that's
the
reason
why
you
see
me
so
involved
and
energetic
in
Dabangg.
"It's
not
difficult
for
Abhinav
to
come
out
from
the
comparisons
with
Anurag"
Abhinav
Kashyap
is
a
really
good
guy.
I
think
he
writes
very
well.
He
knows
that
whole
backdrop.
He
has
worked
on
small
screen.
He
doesn't
waste
time
and
money
and
he
has
had
the
script
of
Dabangg
for
the
longest
time
and
has
worked
really
hard
on
it.
We
were
fortunate
that
the
'Khan
Brothers'
picked
up
the
script
of
Dabangg
before
anybody
else
could.
After
what
Abhinav
has
done,
I
think
people
will
stop
comparing
him
to
his
brother
Anurag.
"Arbaaz
makes
me
proud"
It's
not
just
about
Arbaaz.
Be
it
anybody,
when
the
producers
put
in
money,
they
put
in
their
life
into
the
project.
They
need
to
recover
the
money
and
keep
track
of
all
the
accounts.
Arbaaz
has
over
the
years
learnt
the
trait
from
Sohail
and
many
others
with
whom
he
has
worked.
Today
I
can
say
that
I
am
really
proud
of
him.
Earlier,
the
stakes
were
not
that
high
but
now-a-days
the
stakes
are
very
high
and
everybody
is
more
bang
on
and
agile
on
scripts,
timing
of
the
release,
how
much
the
film
will
recover
and
what
kind
of
opening
the
film
will
take.
Arbaaz
has
got
all
that
sorted.
"I
will
show
Dabangg
to
my
celebrity
friends"
Marketing
has
gone
to
another
level
all
together.
In
the
papers
you
see
which
actor
has
showcased
his
film
to
his
celebrity
friends.
Why
not?
If
it
helps
the
film
and
if
it
helps
spread
the
good
word
about
the
film,
why
won't
I
show
it.
I
am
planning
to
show
Dabangg
to
few
of
my
celebrity
friends.
I
remember
the
last
time
I
showed
Kyun
Ki
to
Aamir
Khan
and
he
said
that
he
didn't
like
it
because
he
found
that
the
film
was
very
depressing.
I
too
felt
the
same
way.
That's
what
I
like.
I
like
honesty
and
not
all
the
friends
coming
up
to
me
and
saying
'Yes,
we
loved
the
film'.
I
didn't
think
Tere
Naam
would
work
but
it
did.
So
you
never
know
what
fate
has
in
store
for
you
on
Friday.
"Tere
Naam
sequel
can
be
made
or
not
depends
on
Satish
Kaushik"
Tere
Naam
for
me
was
the
easiest
thing
to
do.
If
you
travel
to
small
towns,
that's
how
they
behave.
I
behaved
like
that
in
the
second
half.
The
second
half
was
a
complete
loser.
Even
when
I
was
publicising
Tere
Naam,
I
told
people
not
to
get
inspired
by
my
character
in
the
second
half
because
today,
people
take
your
performance
home
and
behave
accordingly.
They
try
to.
I
told
my
fans
that
if
one
girl
goes
away
from
your
life,
another
one
can
replace
her.
It's
not
that
difficult.
I
think
Tere
Naam
sequel
needs
to
be
tighter
and
it
all
depends
on
Satish
Kaushik
whether
he
wants
to
make
it
or
not.
"Twitter
has
given
me
a
new
stage
to
perform"
I
tweet
when
I
have
something
to
tweet.
But
when
I
am
not
doing
anything,
I
follow
my
fans
on
twitter.
Most
of
the
tweets
I
do
are
without
taking
the
names
of
the
people
who've
tweeted
me.
I
do
not
tweet
for
the
fun
of
it.
I
follow
my
fans
and
try
to
reply
them.
I
also
like
posting
some
pictures
on
twitter
and
that's
the
only
thing
I
do.
Twitter
has
given
me
a
new
stage
to
perform
and
I
am
really
happy.
I
can
say
today
that
Dabangg
isn't
just
a
movie;
it's
turned
into
a
movement.