What was a dream directorial debut has become a nightmare of sorts 15 years for not just the filmmaker but also the lead star of the film and his family. In Dabangg, then then first-time director Abhinav Kashyap presented Salman Khan as the fearless, mischievous cop Chulbul Pandey AKA Robinhood Pandey, an avatar that rebranded the Bollywood superstar's fandom.
While the film was a superhit and went on to spawn a franchise, working on Dabangg has left a bitter aftertaste for both the director and actor. The proverbial hatchet was kind of never buried and that only proved this year, days ahead of the 15th release anniversary of Dabangg.
And as it is the nature of the 'he said, she said' (here: he said, he said) game, the saga continues.
Why Abhinav Kashyap Goes Dabangg On Salman Khan From Time To Time
In Abhinav Kashyap's words, working on Dabangg was an unpleasant experience for him. Shortly after the film was released in September of 2010, the director decided not to return for Dabangg 2 due to how he was treated during the production and promotions of the film, which was produced by Salman Khan's brother Arbaaz Khan. What also led to a public fallout that he apparently quit the sequel via a text message.
Over the years, there were many public appearances suggesting that the water was under the bridge but now it doesn't seem that it actually happened.
During the pandemic in 2020, Abhinav Kashayp wrote a Facebook post accusing Salman Khan and his brothers Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan as well as father-veteran screenwriter Salim Khan for sabotaging his career.
Cut to 2025, days before the 15th release anniversary of Dabangg, Abhinav Kashyap gave an interview to SCREEN that brought back the ghosts of the past.
From calling Salman Khan a goon to an ill-mannered person, the filmmaker went all guns blazing in a no-holds-barred conversation.
"Salman is never involved. He is not even interested in acting, and he hasn't been since the last 25 years. He does a favour by turning up to work. He is more into the power of being a celebrity, but he is not interested in acting. He is a gunda (goon). I was not aware of this before Dabangg. Salman badtameez hai, ganda insaan hai (Salman is ill-mannered, he is a bad person).
"He is from a film family which has been in the industry for 50 years. He continues the process. They are vindictive people. They control the whole process. If you don't agree with them, they come after you," Abhinav Kashyap told the publication.
The filmmaker claimed that Salman Khan and his family used the sucess of Dabangg to propel Arbaaz Khan's career by snuffing out his right at the outset.
"They have claimed credits for things they haven't done. It's a landmark film in their career, and they felt the need to take the entire credit, so it's a compliment to me. Success has many fathers, failure has none. What happened to me after Dabangg-exactly the opposite happened to me after Besharam. I was pushed out of Dabangg, the credit wasn't shared. I think it was a deliberate attempt by the Khan family to set up Arbaaz," he said.
The filmmaker also claimed that Salman Khan objected to the outfit of brother Arbaaz Khan's former wife Malaika Arora in the popular song Munni Badnaam Hui from Dabangg.
"Arbaaz and Salman, no matter whatever they say, are actually very conservative Muslims. Malaika also had her own differences with Salman over her outfits. They want their women covered up. So, they didn't want her to do the item song," he said.
But why did he hold his tongue when Dabangg was up for release? In his response, Abhinav Kashyap said he was too young and new to call them out.
"Once I put the film together, they realised that they had a winning product on their hands. Then, everyone wanted the credit and I was pushed out during the marketing of the film. I had a dream to make a film and I stepped away. What is the point of fighting at that time? They did subtle things to keep my name out. I was very young, doing my first film. It was fine to quietly get out," he had said.
Weeks ago, Abhinav Kashyap gave another interview in which he criticised Salman Khan for praising his brother and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, saying "ab yeh humare hi talve chaatega, ab yeh ghutnon pe aayenge, bheek bhi mangenge".
What Has Salman Khan Said About Abhinav Kashyap
Social media and mainstream media, Abhinav Kashyap has utilised both to make his voice heard and send a message to Salman Khan and his family. Salman Khan had never publicly addressed the rumoured feud with Abhinav Kashyap until a month ago.
The Bollywood superstar started responding to Abhinav Kashyap's allegations via Bigg Boss 19, the reality TV show where he serves as the host. Days after the Dabangg director called him a goon, Salman Khan seemingly used the stage of Bigg Boss 19 to say his piece.
It was during one of the Weekend Ka Vaar's episode on a Sunday night that former Bigg Boss contestant Shehnaaz Gill appeared on Bigg Boss 19 to introduce her brother Shehbaz Badesha as a wild card entrant.
While talking to Salman Khan, she said: "I have come with a request... you've helped build so many people's careers..."
To which, Salman Khan said, "Maine kahan banaye hai kisi ke (career). Career banane wala uparwala hai main thodi hoon. Laanchan bhi daala hai ki kitno ke dubaaye hain (career). Especially dubaane waale toh mere haath mein hai hi nahin. Lekin aaj kal yeh sab chalta hai na ki career khaa jaayega. Kaunsa career khaaya maine? Par agar khaaoon na toh main apna khud ka career khaa jaunga."
Many believed that it was an indirect message meant for Abhinav Kashyap but people were still unsure. Salman Khan doesn't really speak about controversies that easily.
In another episode of Bigg Boss 19, the actor took another indirect dig at Abhinav Kashyap, without naming the director. Salman said, "People are just sitting and making any sort of claims. We have been associated, and they have also praised me a lot in the past. Now they don't quite like me anymore; they come on podcasts and waste so much time and say all made-up things, which are all lies. They do it because they have no work. So I urge them and all others to do some work."
After his "talve chatenge" remark, the Bollywood star, again on Bigg Boss 19 on this Sunday's episode, this time took a more direct jibe at Abhinav Kashyap.
"Humare ek dabangg insaan hai woh bhi aaj kal lage hue hain. Abhi unhone mere saath Aamir ko bhi lapete mein leliya, Shah Rukh, ko bhi. Mujhe bus itna he poochna hai pichle Weekend Ka Vaar par maine ek aise he bola tha kaam karo yaar, nobody is interested.. Aaj wapas se poochna chahta hoon, ke kaam mila kya bhai?
"Aur phir jab aapko humne ek film (Dabangg 2) offer ki aapne bola nahi karenge. Aur aap joh tareefon ke pull bandhe jaa rahe the woh toh aapne abhi jaake destroy kar diya hai. Mujhe baat sirf buri yehi lag rahi hai ke aapne apne aap ko destroy kar liya," Salman Khan said.
What Is The Anurag Kashyap Angle In The Salman Khan-Abhinav Kashayp Feud
In the SCREEN interview, Abhinav Kashyap said that his filmmaker-brother Anurag Kashyap had cautioned him against working with Salman Khan, citing his personal experience.
In 2023, Anurag Kashyap claimed he was fired from Tere Naam as its director as he didn't want Salman Khan to shave his chest.
In his latest interview, Abhinav Kashyap has said that Anurag Kashyap wasn't fired from Tere Naam, he quit because Salman Khan "misbehaved" with his brother.
Just last month, Salman Khan wished Anurag Kashyap on his latest directorial Nishaanchi, which clearly caught Abhinav Kashyap's attention to make the "talve chatenge" remark.
Where Is Anurag Kashyap Amid This Renewed Controversy
Abhinav Kashyap gave another one of these rant-like interviews in 2020 around the time he made that Facebook post.
While Arbaaz Khan threatened legal action against the filmmaker, patriarch Salim Khan called him "a crazy person".
And when the media reached out to Anurag Kashyap for his response, the filmmaker simply shared a tweet at the time. "For the media calling me and people who want to ask, treat this as my statement. 'More than two years ago, Abhinav had told me clearly to stay out of his business and it's not my place to comment on anything he says or does.' Thank You," he wrote.
Since then, Anurag Kashyap hasn't spoken about his brother in the media.
With Salman Khan now returning Abhinav Kashyap's barb with another barb, this 15-year feud doesn't seem to be nearing its end.