Filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap, the younger brother of director Anurag Kashyap, has broken a decade of silence in a recent video interview, delivering explosive allegations against Salman Khan and his family. Kashyap, who directed the 2010 box office hit ‘Dabangg’, described the Khans as "criminals" and a "bag of snake poison" poisoning the Hindi entertainment industry.

The tumultuous making of ‘Dabangg’

Speaking in an interview with Bollywood Thikana, Kashyap confirmed that the film took two years to secure a producer. He initially approached Arbaaz Khan to play the supporting role of Makki, but Arbaaz insisted on becoming the producer. Kashyap suggested several major stars for the lead role of Chulbul Pandey, including Salman Khan, noting that Salman would need to shed his current "rogue" image to convincingly play the character.

While some casting choices (like Om Puri and Anupam Kher) were his, Kashyap claims that the lead actress, Sonakshi Sinha, was imposed upon him. He recounted Arbaaz calling him to say: "Sir, we found the heroine... brother has decided". Kashyap also noted that his original artistic vision for ‘Dabangg’ was "darker" and did not include lip-sync songs, which were incorporated later due to the producer's insistence.

Allegations of financial deceit and credit theft

Kashyap stated that the Khan family systematically minimised his professional contribution. He alleges that ‘Dabangg’ is the only film in the history of Hindi cinema where the director’s credit was removed from the opening sequence and delayed until after Salman Khan’s name appeared.

He further claimed he was financially manipulated: his agreed salary of 51 lakhs was reduced to 30 lakhs. Arbaaz Khan allegedly justified this reduction by promising a 21-lakh car and publicity. Kashyap revealed that the Chevrolet Captiva car, delivered as part of his payment, was never registered in his name and remains outside his house, leading him to label Arbaaz Khan as "that cheap."

Attacks on character and career sabotage

Kashyap claims Salman Khan’s language is constantly abusive, replete with "mother-sister abuses," and that Salman referred to him with a vulgar word throughout the film’s production.

The director called Salman Khan a "convicted criminal" currently out on bail (in the illegal arms case). He also questioned the ambiguity of the 2002 Hit-and-Run case, asking: "Salman says, 'I wasn't driving the car,' so who was driving the car?".

His involvement with the ‘Dabangg’ franchise ended when he decided to leave the sequel, ‘Dabangg 2’, approximately four or five months after the original film's release. Kashyap claims that the Khan family sabotaged his career, even calling them "goons." He stated that his subsequent film, ‘Besharam’, suffered severe, non-organic social media attacks, with investigators finding ₹1 lakh had been spent hiring "paid trolls from Bangladesh and Pakistan" to destroy the film.

Demand for accountability

Abhinav Kashyap asserts his ultimate goal is accountability, not financial compensation. He demands that Salman Khan should "come down on his knees," apologise publicly, admit his crimes, and restore Kashyap's rights to the ‘Dabangg’ brand, upon which the Khan family built their empire.