Dharmendra revealed that Salman Khan had been inspired by one of his characters from a 1975 film for Dabangg (2010). On Twitter, the veteran actor responded to a fan and shared that Salman had told him that he based Chulbul Pandey from his film Pratiggya. Dharmendra played a police officer who avenges his parents’ death in the film. Also starring Hema Malini and Ajit, the film also featured many comedic moments. It is also known for its hit song Main Jat Yamla Pagla Deewana, which is often identified with Dharmendra.
Last week, Dharmendra had shared a short clip of himself and Hema from Pratiggya. He captioned it, “Dosto, kuchh bhi kar jaata hoon (Friends, I do just about anything) …Haha.” In it, Hema’s character’s Radha is praising his shooting skills. A fan on Twitter replied, “Love this film. I think Dabangg is maybe inspired by this film.”
Replying to the fan on Twitter, Dharmendra wrote, “Yes dear, even Salman told me that he was very much inspired by that character of mine. Friends, it happens I wanted to play Dalip Sahab’s role (Devdas and Salim in Mughal e Aazim ) Following Dreams is everyone’s dream.” The fan added, “Thank you for confirming this I really felt that the Dabangg character was inspired by your character. Love you Dharam ji.”