Arbaaz vindicated as Dabangg 2 gathers appreciation; breaks records

December 26, 2012 - 10:39 AM IST

Dabangg 2 has broken the opening record of Ek Tha Tigerr and should cross the 100 crore mark today, hence turning out to be yet another Salman Khan starrer to have managed to achieve this feat in first six days itself. While this feat is mainly from the commercial standpoint, for producer and director Arbaaz Khan, the stakes were even higher.

Says a close associate of Arbaaz, "He had some good work to do before putting things together on paper because by the time Dabangg 2 was ready to go on floors, Salman was an even bigger superstar than what he was during the filming of Dabangg. With super hits like Ready and Bodyguard in the interim period, the eldest of the Khan brothers was pretty much sitting on an enviable position. For Arbaaz too it was a huge responsibility since as a first time director with a superstar actor at the helm of affairs and all eyes on him, he had to deliver goods and that too in a biggest possible way."

Arbaaz vindicated as Dabangg 2 gathers appreciation; breaks records

The idea was to not just go ahead and get a money spinner rolling; there was a lot that he had to do in order to make sure that his film got audience nod of approval as well. Now with many terming Dabangg 2 as an even better film than Dabangg, Arbaaz feels vindicated.

Moreover with industry bigwigs like Subhash Ghai, Sooraj Barjatya, Anees Bazmee, David Dhawan and Boney Kapoor (to name a few) too coming forward to acknowledge his effort, he has all the reasons to celebrate this festive season.

"Well, you rely on your judgment", he smiles, "You devise a scene or a character and then figure out whether it would be good enough for a larger segment of audience or not. You listen to a tune which no one has heard before and then take a call on whether yeh gaana kisi ko pasand aayega ya nahi. However you continue to innovate. Yes, Salman is a constant factor which means you have to keep him in mind as well. However right through the course of decision making, you decide around whether you have to just follow the path that is already set or do something that no one has done before."

However, as is the case with any biggie that is seen by a vast segment of audience, even Dabangg 2 hasn't escaped being in scrutiny. For all the moolah that the film has managed to generate, there were detractors who were quick to point out obvious similarities between Dabangg 2 and Dabangg as well as Salman's characterization of Chulbul Pandey which seemed to be exactly on the same lines as was seen a couple of years ago.

"But isn't that the way a sequel should look, feel and behave", Arbaaz Khan is quick to say, "If Salman was not being the Chulbul Pandey that he is or the film was not in the same mode as Dabangg then we may have as well called the film and the character of Salman something else. What's the point in having a true blue sequel if you don't bring in a similar flavour?"