Salman is like Sachin in your team: Arbaaz Khan

Salman bhai may guarantee a grand opening for Arbaaz Khan's directorial debut, but a hit is still not a foregone conclusion

On Saturday, just a day before the Lucknow leg of " Dabangg 2"'s shooting schedule was to begin, its director Arbaaz Khan seemed to have had a lot on his mind as he settled down for a chat in the lobby of a plush five-star in the city.

A bug that he'd caught as soon as he landed in the city wasn't helping matters either. But despite all this you couldn't miss the excitement on Arbaaz's face as he began to talk about his directorial debut.

"Where else would we have gone if not Lucknow? I have visited the city earlier also and somehow, it manages to encompass all that is so essentially North Indian. Besides, my film is based in UP, my character is moving into a bigger town and what are the big cities here if not Lucknow and Kanpur," reasoned Arbaaz, adding, "It will be difficult to name locations as I'm not really familiar with the names of places here. But I loved the old city areas and this huge chauraha in your main marketplace...And Kanpur's railway station was also quite interesting."

But what we really wanted to talk about is him venturing into direction, and that too with a sequel to a blockbuster. "Of course, every sequel comes with its advantages and challenges and even more so with a film like "Dabangg" that has established a legacy. But I have had all of this sorted in my mind for long. On the brighter side, "Dabangg" has a huge fan base, so people will come to watch my film for sure. It has a loyalty base and the director is expected to maintain the quality to meet the expectations of those people. But yaar, legacy kahaan tak chalegi? A film has to run into the second week also, na? Log toh Friday, Saturday ya Sunday aa jaayenge hype pe, but what about the next week. If I don't make a good, strong film, people will say, 'Isme mazaa nahin aaya.' And I am very conscious of that since, of course, this is my debut as a director also. I want to make a worthy sequel and show my expertise," he said.

As for making a sequel to a hit film, Arbaaz's simple logic is: "Why not? I'm sure of my abilities, and I know my film has a scope. As a producer too, I was aware of the scope of my characters of my story and my setting. "Dabangg 2" is a logical extension. I'm very sure I can take this franchisee forward. See, here sequels are made only when the initial film has been successful, which my earlier film was. And trust me, turning director is a well-thought out decision, it did not happen overnight. I was thinking of direction even when I was acting."

Of course, one would assume that to have Salman Khan in your kitty would mean half the problem solved. But Arbaaz has a different perspective. As she explained, "Salman Khan is like having Sachin in your team. The people love him, the camera loves him... One would say, 'Yaar Sachin hai toh century toh bana hi lega.' But think about it, Sachin ne century bana liya but the other players in the team were not able to play... What then? Match toh log ek run se bhi haar jaate hain na... what I'm trying to say is that my script and my work has to be tight enough also."

However, a smile softened Arbaaz's features when we mention the original Munni, and wonder how her absence will affect the franchise. Arbaaz sets us on course with, "Malaika is my lucky charm. Main uske liye kahin toh jagah banaunga..." leaving us wondering.