Abhinav Kashyap Reveals Salman Khan Told Om Puri To Quit Dabangg

Filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap has once again opened up about behind-the-scenes tensions on the sets of his 2010 blockbuster Dabangg. He recently alleged that Salman Khan's behaviour towards co-stars, particularly the late Om Puri, created conflict during the film's production. 

What's Happening

• In a recent interview with Bollywood Thikana, Abhinav Kashyap recounted a tense incident involving Om Puri. According to him, Salman Khan refused to perform a scene in which Chulbul Pandey was meant to touch Om Puri's feet, insisting, "I won't touch his feet."
• Abhinav Kashyap said the scene was rewritten multiple times to satisfy Salman, which angered Om Puri.
• He added, "Then I went to Om Puri with the revised scenes and he got angry with me. He asked me if Salman has asked to change the scenes. He went and spoke to Salman. He told him, 'Salman, why do you do this? Allah has given you so much why do you eat up everybody's role?' and Salman just sat there. Om Puri refused to do the role, and Salman said very rudely to him, 'Nahi karna jao kuchh aur karo (If you don't want to do this, then leave the film).'"
• Despite the confrontation, Om Puri eventually agreed to continue with the project out of respect for Abhinav Kashyap.
• "Om Puri ji was angry. I went to him to give it a last shot, and I told him that I would really like to have him in my film. He asked me if it is my first film, and when I said yes, he said I will do this for you," the filmmaker said.
• Abhinav Kashyap also revealed that Salman's interference extended to other actors. He claimed that Arbaaz Khan's entire role was removed, while Mahie Gill, who was originally offered the lead role of Rajjo, had most of her screen time cut.
• "Dabangg originally was 2.45 hours long but they forced me to shorten it and I reduced it to 2 hour and 20 minutes but Salman had more problem with others' roles than the length of the film. He cut Arbaaz's whole role. The matter of Arbaaz's role was settled between these brothers but Mahie Gill also did a role in the film. She was the 2nd lead in the film, but they cut most of her role, they ruined her career," he explained.
• Abhinav Kashyap expressed regret over how Mahie was treated and said, "I had originally offered Mahie to play the role of Rajjo (female lead which marked the acting debut of Sonakshi Sinha) but I was not able to find a hero at that time. Then Arbaaz came in as producer and then hero was cast and everything else happened. Then I offered Mahie to play role of Arbaaz's love interest in the film and she didn't question me. She took whatever money was given to her. They treated her unfairly."

Background

Dabangg, directed by Abhinav Kashyap, marked a major breakthrough for Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha. The film's success, however, came amid reports of creative conflicts on set. Abhinav Kashyap had previously alleged that Salman exercised excessive control over the film, affecting other actors' roles and the director's creative decisions.

ALSO READ: Dabangg Director Abhinav Kashyap Takes A Jibe At Salman Khan Again: "A Criminal Like Him Will Play A Soldier?"

from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/vP4HgtI
via IFTTT