Salman Khan Reveals Why Dabangg Was Kept Open-Ended: We Felt We Might Come Up With A Sequel

Dabangg is one of the most successful film franchises in the Hindi film industry. As the franchise's third installment, Dabangg 3 hit theatres today, Salman Khan shares why they kept the story of Dabangg open ended.

Salman, who plays the lead role as the much loved police officer Chulbul Pandey, had foresight that Dabangg was a film that had potential to be taken forward, and its story explored further.

Speaking to Mid Day, Salman said, "We had kept Dabangg open-ended because we felt that we might come up with a (sequel). At that point, Arbaaz (Khan, producer) asked if we were probably being a little pompous about the film's fate by considering a sequel. I told him, 'If the movie works, well and good; if not, there's nothing we could do'. Fortunately, everyone liked it, so we made Dabangg 2."

He added, "I came up with the thought for this film, and with Arbaaz, kept improvising on it. We decided to explore Chulbul's past, and that's how the prequel was built. It's always fun to shoot (for this franchise). Now, when I walk on the sets of Dabangg, I automatically transform from Salman Khan to Chulbul."

Dabangg 3 has had a promising start with audiences, which doesn't come as a surprise as many have been loyal to the franchise. The film explores the story of Chulbul Pandey when he was younger. While Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz, Mahie Gill have reprised their roles in Dabangg 3, it sees the debut of Bollywood newcomer, Saiee Manjrekar. South actor Sudeep also features in the film. It is directed by Prabhudeva.

In an earlier interview, Salman had revealed that Dabangg started off as a small, content driven film, which was supposed to star Randeep Hooda and Arbaaz in the lead.

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