Dharmendra says Salman Khan was inspired by his film Pratiggya for Dabangg | Bollywood

Dharmendra revealed that Salman Khan was inspired by one of his characters from a 1975 film for Dabangg (2010). Taking to Twitter, the veteran actor responded to a fan and shared that Salman had told him that he was based on Chulbul Pandey from his film Pratiggya. Dharmendra played a police officer who avenges the death of his parents in the film. Also starring Hema Malini and Ajit, the film also featured many comedy moments. He is also known for the hit song Main Jat Yamla Pagla Deewana, which is often identified with Dharmendra. (Read also: Salman Khan Wishes Bodyguard Shera On His Birthday, Ex Sangeeta Bijlani Joins Him)

Last week, Dharmendra had shared a short clip of him and Hema from Pratiggya. He captioned it, “Dosto, kuchh bhi kar jaata hoon (Friends, I do almost anything) … Haha.” In it, Hema’s character Radha praises his shooting skills. A fan on Twitter responded, “I love this movie. I think Dabangg is maybe inspired by this movie.”

Responding to the fan on Twitter, Dharmendra wrote, “Yes dear, even Salman told me that he got a lot of inspiration from this character of mine. Guys, I happen to want to play the role of Dalip Sahab (Devdas and Salim in Mughal e Aazim) Following Dreams is everyone’s dream.” The fan added, “Thanks for confirming this, I really felt Dabangg’s character was inspired by your character. Love you Dharam ji.”

In Dabangg, directed by Abhinav Kashyap, Chulbul is a morally ambiguous character aka ‘Robin Hood’ Pandey. In 1975, Dharmendra’s character is on the run from the law and pretends to be a policeman in a remote village. The film had a mix of action sequences and slapstick comedy, and Dabangg also follows the same formula.

The success of Dabangg led to two sequels, Dabangg 2 (2012) and Dabangg 3 (2019). The Main Jat song Yamla Pagla Deewana inspired the Yamla Pagla Deewana film franchise starring Dharmendra and his sons, actors Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol.

The 87-year-old actor will next be seen in Karan Johar’s family entertainer Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani in July 2023. The film also stars Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. She also has an important role in the untitled romantic comedy starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, directed by Amit Joshi.