I don't compete with Salman: Arbaaz Khan

By times of india
Arbaaz Khan would rather talk about his Sandalwood debut than Salman Khan, during his visit to the city

Fifteen years after he made his debut as a B-town actor, Arbaaz Khan is finally moving out of his comfort zone and doing regional cinema. The actor, who has also successfully made the transition to producer, has been roped in by director-producer Dinesh Gandhi to star in his next film. And like his Bollywood debut, Arbaaz will foray into Kannada cinema with a negative role. The film, Chatrapati, the remake of a Rajamouli-directed Telugu film, will see Arbaaz play the villain.

"I watched the Telugu original and found it interesting. That is why I decided to take up this project," says Arbaaz, who was in the city for the launch of the film.

The actor is not worried about starting off as a villain in Sandalwood. "My Bollywood career took off with me playing a negative character in Daraar. Gradually, I became a hero. But these days, the nature or the length of the role doesn't really matter to me, as long as audiences appreciate the character I have essayed," he says.

And even though he has now come south, Arbaaz isn't sure of making it big here. "Heroes from the south who work in B-town have not been able to establish themselves there. Likewise with those coming from the north and working here. Stars like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth did a couple of films in Bollywood, but could not make it big there," he says.

As for his Bollywood work, Arbaaz's next outing will be the sequel to Dabangg and this time he will graduate from production to direction too. "Sequels for established franchises work well in Hollywood and the trend is picking up in Bollywood too. We are confident that Dabangg 2 will also turn out well. The script was quite interesting, which is why I decided to direct the film," says Arbaaz.

Prod him about his acting career, which despite tallying at over 40 films in 15 years, hasn't given him the star status his brother Salman Khan enjoys and he retorts, "All star sons can't be stars. Sachin's son will never be another Sachin. I'm successful as a filmmaker and my brother is doing well as an actor. I got a National award for Dabangg, so I don't have any regrets about not being a big star," he maintains.

But doesn't it ever get to him that Salman is always in the limelight? "Why are we talking about Salman? We need to talk about me. I am making a Sandalwood debut" says the actor, adding "I never think about Salman's popularity vis-a-vis the fan following that I have. I don't compete with him," he signs off.

Contributed by Mahesh H 

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