'Dabangg' an actor-driven franchise: Arbaaz Khan

Mumbai: Arbaaz Khan says "Dabangg" franchise is solely dependent on superstar Salman Khan and cannot move forward with another name.

As a third film in the franchise is currently being shot which will see Salman reprise his role as a cop named Chulbul Pandey, Arbaaz said unlike James Bond spy films, the team cannot go looking for another actor after every two odd years.

"'Dabangg' is an actor-driven franchise. It took us seven years to make the third part and we don't know how much time it will take to make the fourth one. It is dependent on one actor, Salman Khan. 

"It is not like a James Bond kind of series that you work with an actor for two years and then with someone else... the character of Chulbul Pandey is evergreen and it will go on. Till the time we have the actor and we can do something with him age wise, we will do it," Arbaaz, who has been associated with "Dabangg" both as an actor and filmmaker, told PTI in an interview. 

Drawing similarities between international blockbuster series such as Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky", Arbaaz said only Stallone can be Rocky and no one else. 

"Similarly, Sanjay Dutt will be a part of 'Munna Bhai' series... I had heard they are getting Aamir Khan for it. I feel some franchises don't work like that, you need to have them throughout the whole thing.

"When you are doing an 'Indiana Jones', you need to have Harrison Ford. Now that he is old, the



franchise is not moving ahead. If you want to take it forward after a break, you will have to create a new Harrison Ford," he said.

"Dabangg" series started in 2010, where Salman played the corrupt but fearless police officer Chulbul Pandey. The film also marked Sonakshi Sinha's Bollywood debut. Directed by Abhinav Kashyap, the film turned out to be a blockbuster. 

Two years later, the makers came up with a sequel "Dabangg 2", which was helmed by Arbaaz. 

The third film is being directed by Prabhudheva. 

Arbaaz, who will reprise his role as Salman's on-screen brother Makkhi, said the shoot is going well so far. 

"We finished the first schedule on time. We have continuous schedules with very little time gap in between. Hopefully, we should wrap up by September as we want to tentatively release it by the end of this year, which is in December," he said.

The actor said he was unable to direct "Dabangg 3" as they wanted a new perspective this time. 

"We wanted a fresh person to do it this time. Also, I was busy with other things and I needed to focus on them. Besides, that there are other reasons which I can't discuss. Maybe (I will direct) the next part." 

Arbaaz currently hosts celebrity chat show "Pinch" for ZEE5 and is also looking forward to his digital debut "Poison" on the same platform.