Bigg Boss Salman Khan is yet again set to make girls turn Zandu Balm with his antics in Dabangg. Sreya Basu in conversation with Chulbul (Robinhood) Pandey in Mumbai
Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan were first approached for Bigg Boss 4. They said ?no? and so you are in. True?
You have to ask that to the producers of the show. All I know is that, the producers approached me and I said ?Yes?.
Big B played a psychic mentor in Bigg Boss 3. What will be your signature approach to the show?
Two different personalities have two different styles. I don?t think I can do Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) like Mr Bachchan did. He is a very senior actor?has more experience than me?he is the biggest superstar. I am just a young boy. So there can be no comparison?it?s not fair. But then, I will try to match up to at least Shilpa (Shetty, host Bigg Boss 2).
How comfortable are you with the idea that personal lives of celebrities will be exposed on television?
It?s them (celebrity-participants) who will be exposed, not me. So I am on the safe side.
Would you like to be a participant on Bigg Boss?
I don?t think I will be able to handle it. Alone is fine. But, with cameras on all the times, it?s very difficult. I would rather be an outsider and see if all things are good inside. Also, I can make it (the show) more fun outside, than inside.
These days many Bollywood actors are coming to small screen?
See, what happens is, we do movies, we get paid and our fans and audience go to the theatres where they too have to pay for us. But on small screen, we try to give them as much entertainment as possible for free. Our fans can just switch on the TV, and if they don?t like us, they can change the channel and watch something more interesting. So, in a way, it?s a more difficult job to stop audiences from changing channels.
Talking about?Dabangg, you are playing a cop for a second time in a row (after?Wanted)?
I have a soft spot for cops. My grandfather (from my father?s side) was Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police. I think, a good cop is a God.
But Chulbul Pandey is a crazy cop with weird dancing styles?
Ya?that?s because I have picked up the steps from people who are not good dancers?you see them at weddings, Ganesh?visarjans. So, when you see me doing those steps, you wonder-yeh kar kya raha hai.
You started out as an intense lover boy (Maine Pyaar Kiya, Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam) and then went on to become this tough guy image (Wanted, Dabangg). Was this a conscious transformation of your image?
My image has been created by the media. Even?Maine Pyaar Kiya had action scenes. It depends on how media stamps you. On the other hand,?Wanted, Dabangg are not words with positive connotations. But we used it in a positive note.
When was the last time you really had to stretch yourself for a character?
I seriously believe that today?s generation wants a?Hero; and be it a romantic hero, an action hero or a tragic hero. But the youths want to see a?Hero when they go to watch a film. You have to entertain them in a way that when they leave the theatre, they want to be that particular character. So, that?s where I have to work on?.it?s not about one film, but all films that I do.