Dabangg director Abhinav Kashyap reveals Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan didn't want Malaika Arora in 'Munni Badnaam Hui': 'They are very conservative Muslims'

Salman Khan and Malaika Arora in a still from Munni Badnaam

Over a decade after Dabangg became a blockbuster, director Abhinav Kashyap has shared lesser-known details about the making of the film’s iconic item number Munni Badnaam Hui, performed by Malaika Arora. In a recent interview with Screen, Abhinav Kashyap claimed that both Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan were initially against Malaika appearing in the chartbuster track.

Abhinav Kashyap recalled that Arbaaz, who was married to Malaika at the time and also acted in the film, did not want her to be labelled an “item girl.” “Arbaaz wasn’t keen about Malaika doing it. He didn’t like the fact that his wife will be labelled as an ‘item girl’,” the director said.

He further described the Khan brothers as “conservative.”

“Arbaaz and Salman, no matter whatever they say, are actually very conservative Muslims. Malaika also had her own differences with Salman over her outfits. They want their women covered up. So, they didn’t want her to do the item song,” Kashyap shared.

According to Kashyap, Malaika stood her ground and eventually persuaded Arbaaz to let her perform. “But, Malaika is a strong and independent woman, she makes her own choices. When she was offered this, she said yes. It took some persuasion for Arbaaz to agree. She told him that it’s nothing vulgar, just dancing only, and it’s all family around in the song, what are you scared of? And of course, that song went on to break so many records,” he added.

Also Read: Dhanashree Verma breaks silence on Yuzvendra Chahal's 'Be Your Own Sugar Daddy' remark; says, ‘I could have been disrespectful too’

Interestingly, Munni Badnaam Hui was not originally designed as Salman Khan’s song. Sonu Sood, who played the antagonist Chhedi Singh, had earlier revealed on a podcast that the track was meant to be his solo number with Malaika. However, Salman reportedly insisted on being part of it.

Kashyap recalled, "Salman insisted, ‘This is the best song, I have to be in it.’ So, I made him arrive a paragraph before in the song.”

Released in 2010, Dabangg was a massive box office success. It also marked the Bollywood debut of Sonakshi Sinha. The film featured veterans Dimple Kapadia and Vinod Khanna in pivotal roles. Its success led to two sequels — Dabangg 2 (2012), directed by Arbaaz Khan, and Dabangg 3 (2019), helmed by Prabhudheva.