Superstar Salman Khan has revealed that Dabangg was originally a dark film with its lead character Chulbul Pandey being "out and out negative". Directed by Abhinav Kashyap, the 2010 film featured Salman as Pandey, a fearless yet corrupt police officer with unorthodox working methods. It received critical acclaim and was a blockbuster upon its release.

In a group interview, Salman revealed that before him, actor Randeep Hooda and his brother Arbaaz Khan were approached for the project. "It was a very dark film, small film to be made under Rs 2 crore. At that point of time, it had Randeep Hooda and Arbaaz. So Arbaaz said he has been approached for this and it's a good one so just hear it. "Then six-eight months passed before I finally heard it. I think UTV was supposed to do it. I liked the feel of the film but Chulbul was out and out negative."