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Director Abhinav Kashyap, who has previously made several allegations against Salman Khan and his family, opened up about a tense incident during the making of Dabangg that left him fainting. In a candid interview with Bollywood Thikana, Abhinav claimed that Salman attempted to take control of the film and install his brother Arbaaz Khan as director, despite all dialogue sequences already being shot.

Abhinav revealed that the alleged harassment made him consider quitting multiple times. “These people harassed me to the point where I wanted to quit, because they wanted a reason to tell the media that I wasn’t up to the mark, and wanted to install Arbaaz Khan as the director. But that didn’t happen. The credit goes to my friend Sunil Vohra, who introduced me to Arbaaz,” he said.

Fainting after a heated argument

Recalling a particularly intense confrontation, Abhinav said, “One evening, Salman and I had an argument, and he spoke so rudely to me that I had to give it back. He accused me of siphoning money, called me a thief. I said that if I am so incompetent and a thief, why do you still have me? And he clearly told me, ‘Toh jaa na, tujhe roka kisne hai (Go then, who’s stopping you)?’ I was so hurt, I fainted. I had a blackout for two or three minutes, and I sat down on the ground.”

When Abhinav Kashyap decided to quit

A few days after the incident, Abhinav avoided the Panchgani set during some action sequences. With Arbaaz Khan, the film’s producer, back in Mumbai, Abhinav had decided to quit. However, a friend visiting him in Panchgani persuaded him to continue, cautioning that quitting was exactly what the Khan family wanted. “He told me not to quit, because that’s what they want. ‘Tere saath Amole Gupte ho jayega’,” Abhinav recalled, referencing director Amole Gupte being replaced on Taare Zameen Par.

Abhinav added that he limited all interactions with Salman, mostly staying confined to his room, and somehow managed to complete the film. He has repeatedly alleged that during the shoot, Salman and his family subjected him to harassment, showed up late to work, and spent Rs 8 lakh on VFX just to conceal Salman’s dark circles.

In prior interviews, Abhinav stated that the difficulties he faced on Dabangg were a key reason for his decision not to direct its sequels. Salman Khan indirectly addressed these allegations on a recent episode of Bigg Boss, though he did not comment directly on Abhinav’s claims.