Abhinav Kashyap shared that Arbaaz Khan wasn’t keen about Malaika Arora doing ‘Munni Badnam Hui’ song for Dabangg. He also mentioned that Salman Khan had differences with her over her outfits.
Abhinav Kashyap’s directorial debut Dabangg (2010) continues to live rent-free in our minds; thanks to Salman Khan’s swagger-packed turn as the fearless, flamboyant Chulbul Pandey, the whistle-worthy masaledaar dialogues, and Malaika Arora’s electrifying performance in the chartbuster track ‘Munni Badnaam Hui.’
Ahead of the film’s 15th anniversary, Abhinav, in a chat with SCREEN, made some ‘dabangg’ revelations about this sizzling dance song.
The filmmaker shared that Arbaaz, who produced and acted in the film, had reservations about his then-wife Malaika Arora doing the song. He added that he wasn’t comfortable with her getting labelled as an ‘item girl’. Abhinav also mentioned that the film’s leading star Salman Khan had objected to Malaika’s outfits.
The director was quoted as saying, “Arbaaz wasn’t keen about Malaika doing it. He didn’t like the fact that his wife will be labelled as an ‘item girl’.”
Calling the Khan brothers ‘conservative’, he continued, “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.”
Speaking about how Malaika ended up doing the song, Abhinav, who later had a fall-out with Khans, told the publication, “But, Malaika is a strong and independent woman, she makes her own choices. When she was offered this, she said yes. It took some persuasion for Arbaaz to agree. She told him that it’s nothing vulgar, just dancing only, and it’s all family around in the song, what are you scared of? And of course, that song went on to break so many records.”
Abhinav revealed that he chose Malaika Arora for ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’ because her enticing dance moves in songs like ‘Chaiyyaa Chaiyyaa’ and ‘Hoth Rasiley’ had already cemented her as a dance icon.
“She didn’t do much acting roles. We needed someone who can carry the song well on her shoulders. She is a great dancer. Someone who is less on the camera, people get more curious to see them,” he stated.
Further in his interview, Abhinav revealed that the song had turned out so well that Salman Khan, upon hearing it, expressed a strong desire to be part of it.
Originally, the Bollywood superstar was supposed to enter the scene after the song, while Sonu Sood’s character would be shown partying. Kashyap had envisioned it like Sholay’s ‘Mehbooba’ sequence, where Amjad Khan enjoys himself while the police lay a trap. He felt it was the perfect moment to insert a song, juxtaposing the villain’s indulgence with the tension of an impending arrest.
However, Salman insisted that it was the best song and that he had to be in it. To accommodate his request, Abhinav adjusted the scene, bringing him a paragraph earlier than planned.
Set in the heartland of Uttar Pradesh, Dabangg follows the story of Chulbul Panday (Salman Khan), a fearless but corrupt cop who battles criminals and family tensions in his own quirky style. The film marked the Bollywood debut of Sonakshi Sinha, and featured Sonu Sood as the main antagonist.
