Salman Khan was not the first choice for Dabangg, instead these two Bollywood star actors were approached first. However, things didn’t work out well and it ended up with Bhaijaan.
Salman Khan’s Dabangg franchise is no doubt one of the successful series that rocked the box office. Salman Khan’s character of a cop named, ‘Chulbul Pandey’ was an instant hit that was loved by the audience. To this date, Salman Khan’s fans are in love with Chulbul’s role. What initially attracted fans was Salman Khan’s new style of wearing glasses behind his shirt was a trend in Bollywood, which was copied by many of his fans. But did you know that Salman Khan was not the first choice for Dabangg? Yes, you read that right. Salman was not on the list, however, these two actors were approached before him. Can you guess who was the first choice for Dabangg’s role? Could you imagine any other actor doing ‘Dabangg… Dabangg…’ other than Salman Khan?
Not Salman Khan, but these actors were the first choice…
Initially, Dabangg was decided to be a serious action film, rather it turned out to be a comedy-thriller. It was all because of Salman Khan, his bold voice, and playful style won many hearts of the fans. Dabangg producer Arbaaz Khan revealed that he wanted to cast Irrfan Khan or Randeep Hooda for the lead role.
Abraaz Khan disclosed that Dabangg director Abhinav Kashyap was planning to cast Irrfan Khan or Randeep Hooda in the film. Due to other reasons, Irrfan couldn’t be finalised. During a conversation with Mumbai Mirror, Arbaaz said, “When Abhinav brought the script of the film to him, it was amazing but when I asked him about the character, he told me that he would be given the role of a fly.”
How Salman ended up doing Dabangg
After Irrfan Khan was finalised for Dabangg, director Abhinav Kashyap couldn’t agree on terms with Irrfan Khan. Later Salman Khan gave his consent to play the role of Chulbul Pandey. Later the film was a commercial success which rocked the box office. Right from his style to his unique dialogues, Salman Khan was the face of Dabangg.