‘Want to do a Tamil film and dub it in Hindi’

On Monday evening, Salman Khan landed in Chennai by a chartered flight to promote his latest release Dabangg 3 that will release in Tamil on December 20. The movie will be released by KJR Studios. The film will hit the screens simultaneously in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. “Dabangg 3 has all elements that a Tamil movie-goer wants in a commercial film. So, when I decided to do the third instalment of the franchise, I wanted to release it simultaneously in Tamil as well,” said Salman. The film brings him and Prabhudheva together 10 years after Wanted. 

When asked about the decision to rope in Prabhudheva to direct the third part, Salman said, “I believed that he would do justice to the third part, which is more of a prequel to what made Chulbul Pandey the character that he now is. The story travels to the past and then comes back to the present. When I asked Prabhudheva, he agreed and we began our next, Radhe, within four days of wrapping up Dabangg 3. This shows the faith we have in each other. Besides being a good director, PD is also a 

good human being.” 

Salman said that Tamil cinema has inspired him to make good films. “I have tremendous respect for Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Rajini sir has visited my house in Mumbai and he shares a great relationship with my dad. Kamal and Sridevi’s Ek Duje Ke Liye, was one of the biggest hits of the 80s. When I saw the poster of the film 2.0 outside the YRF office in Mumbai, I learned that Rajini sir was in the building. I gatecrashed the event and wished him. In fact, I was inspired by Vikram’s Sethu and went on to remake it in Hindi as Tere Naam (2003). I also get to see a lot of Tamil films dubbed in Hindi, which have good content,” he said. 

The Bollywood superstar said that he would love to do a film in Tamil soon. “I want to do a proper Tamil film and release a dubbed version in Hindi,” he said with a huge smile.

Salman opened up on his tryst with Chennai. “I have been here quite a few times. I shot for a soft drink ad in Taj Fisherman’s Cove, when I started out as a model, and also shot the climax scenes of Wanted in the city. It was more of going from the hotel to the location and back,” he recalled. 

He paused for a minute and added, “Prabhudheva wanted me to diet as the climax scene involved upper body shot without a shirt. However, I ended up partying with my friends in Chennai and lied to him saying that I was on diet,” he concluded.