Shiney Ahuja as Chulbul Pandey!

Shiney Ahuja

Shiney Ahuja as Chulbul Pandey: Overnight, the dashing and stylish Chulbul Pandey has become an iconic character of the silver screen, thanks to the stellar performance by Salman Khan and also thanks to the superb run of the film Dabangg at the box office.

However, it has now come to light that the debutant director Abhinav Kashyap had first offered the role to Shiney Ahuja. But the actor, battling an alleged rape case in court, had shown no interest. Perhaps he was apprehensive about playing a corrupt cop after the taint.

But Shiney’s refusal was sure for the good of the film, as Abhinav and producer Arbaaz Khan then approached Salman Khan to play the role.

And guess what? When Salman gave his nod to play Chulbul Pandey, Arbaaz first thought he was joking. It took some time to sink in that the superstar had indeed agreed to play the role.

The rest is history. Salman put so much spunk and style in the character that Chulbul Pandey has now become a heartthrob. No surprise that Arbaaz is already planning a sequel.