Abhinav Kashyap, who made his directorial debut with Dabangg in 2010 starring Salman Khan, has once again criticised the actor and his family.
The film became a massive hit and introduced the beloved character Chulbul Pandey. However, Abhinav has often blamed his fallout with the Khan family for ending his Bollywood career.
In a new interview with Indian Express Screen, the director went further and called Salman Khan a “gunda” and his family “vindictive.”
He said Salman Khan has not been passionate about acting for over two decades. “He is not even interested in acting and hasn’t been for 25 years. He only enjoys the power of being a celebrity. Salman badtameez hai, ganda insaan hai,” Abhinav said. He added that Salman simply “turns up to work.”
Abhinav also alleged that the Khan family controls the power dynamics in Bollywood. “Salman is the father of the star system in Bollywood. They are vindictive people, and if you don’t agree with them, they come after you,” he claimed.
The filmmaker recalled a similar experience his brother, Anurag Kashyap, had during the making of Tere Naam. According to Abhinav, Anurag had written the film but walked away due to mistreatment and lack of credit. “The same thing happened with me,” he said.
After Dabangg, Abhinav directed Besharam in 2013, which failed at the box office. Meanwhile, the Dabangg franchise continued with Arbaaz Khan and Prabhu Deva directing the sequels, while Abhinav was not involved.
