Filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap, who made his directorial debut in Bollywood with Dabangg, has revealed that not Salman Khan but Randeep Hooda was his first choice to play the lead in the film.
He claimed that when he went to narrate the story to Arbaaz Khan, he was keen on playing Chulbul Pandey. However, he then decided to turn producer of the film. Arbaaz then asked him to narrate the film to his brother Sohail Khan.
Abhinav recalled that even Sohail liked the script and was interested to play the part. He even asked him who was playing the lead. Abhinav suggested actor Randeep Hooda’s name, as he wanted to cast a rough and tough personality for the role of cop. However, Sohail refused the idea and asked him to cast a bigger hero.
Why Sohail Khan rejected Randeep Hooda’s name for Dabangg?
In an conversation with Bollywood Thikana, Kashyap revealed how Sohail responded hearing Hooda’s name. “No, yaar, Randeep Hooda ka kya market hai, kaun paise lagayega, koi bada hero soch” (He doesn’t have a big enough reach, who would invest in him, think of a big hero). I then said that Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol are also good, and Salman also has a good body if he can carry a tough role, because Salman had a ‘chichora image’, uski image mawali waali thi (he had a rowdy image).”
Abhinav revealed that Sohail and Arbaaz immediately suggested Salman’s name and said that they would produce the film only if Salman comes on board.
Salman Khan was ‘insecure’ of Sonu Sood?
During the same conversation, Abhinav recalled referring Sonu Sood’s name as the antagonist when discussions happened. “Sonu was my suggestion; we were old friends. I helped him get cast in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva. I thought he looked like a young Amitabh Bachchan… For the villain, I wanted someone who looked stronger than Salman. I knew Sonu had a good physique. But Salman wasn’t very keen. He was very insecure, because Sonu had a good body. Katrina helped convince him. She was around Salman a lot in those days, and she endorsed the idea of Sonu being cast.” Kashyap said.
Dabangg was a huge success, owing to its powerful dialogues, strong narrative and captivating performances. The blockbuster success paved for two sequels- Dabangg 2 and 3, directed by Arbaaz Khan and Prabhu Deva respectively.