Fearless bad boy

Dabangg

Cast Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Om Puri, Anupam Kher

Director Abhinav Singh Kashyap

Rating TBA

After the stupendous success of Wanted, Salman Khan returns with another mighty, action-packed adventure - Dabangg.

Kashyap's tale is about a fearless, corrupt cop Chulbul Pandey (Salman) who enjoys using unorthodox methods to deal with criminals. But Pandey has his fair share of troubles. The main source of his misery is his mother's (Kapadia) remarriage and a bitter relationship with his stepbrother Makhanchan (Arbaaz). But all the negative energy is wiped out when he meets Rajo (Sinha). As love blossoms between the two, Pandey has to fight bad man Cheddi Singh (Sood) after he pits Makhanchan against him. "I enjoy playing larger-than-life characters as they have immense appeal. Such characters are missing from the big-screen now and I'm glad I've been offered such roles recently," says Salman.

Salman, however, isn't happy with the Wanted references. "These are two different films. Wanted was an urban action flick while Dabangg is a rustic tale with a strong family angle. The action sequences may be similar as it's been directed by Vijayan."

Besides piling on a few kilos, Salman wears a moustache to give a distinct touch to Pandey.

Dabangg also marks a few firsts. Apart from the launch of Arbaaz's production house, and the directorial debut of celebrated film-maker Anurag Kashyap's brother Abhinav, it also marks the debut of Sinha, daughter of veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha. The new star kid is eager to find a firm foothold in Bollywood.

Despite being set in the interiors of North India, a few parts of Dabangg were filmed in the UAE and feature the Emirates Palace, the Dubai Metro and the desert area around Dubai.

Dabangg's music is tuned by Salman's favourite music composers Sajid-Wajid. The item song Munni Badnaam is picturised on Salman's sister-in-law Malaika Arora Khan.

This action thriller is pegged as a treat for all Salman fans.