‘Dabangg 3’ Didn’t Do Well At Box Office Because Of Salman Khan: Nikhil Dwivedi

Mumbai: Producer Nikhil Dwivedi, during a conversation with a news portal, opened up about Dabangg 3’s under-performance at the box office and held lead actor Salman Khan responsible.

Unlike Dabangg and Dabangg 2, Dabangg 3 — which had hit theatres in December 2019 — failed to leave cash registers ringing.

Even though the film minted around Rs 173 crore across Indian theatres, it wasn’t considered a blockbuster.

In an interview to Koimoi, producer Nikhil Dwivedi said that Salman has set such high standards for himself that unless his films make Rs 300 crore or more, it is considered to be average.

“Dabangg 3’s India’s theatrical business was 173 crore. That is bigger than some of the biggest hits of many stars in this country. The problem is not you and I thinking the film has not done well. This entire fault only and only lies with Salman Khan. He has set such high standards and benchmark for himself that unless and until a film doesn’t do 300-350 crores, people start to say his film has not done well. I have never even seen what 170 crore looks like. This has been one of the biggest hits of my career. What are we even talking about?” said Nikhil.

“It is the reality. I’m not even trying to be diplomatic here. People are being unsmart here who are not seeing it like that. What are they trying to say? Suppose this was a 173-crore film I would have done with any other actor – we would all be celebrating and throwing success parties which would not be ending! Just because it’s with Salman Khan, people are saying picture chali nahi. Matlab Salman ko bola jaa raha hai ‘har baar tum beyond first aao. Agar tum 3rd aaye, matlab tum fail ho gaye.’ Aise thodi hota hai. Slaman Khan scoring 80% marks does not mean he’s scored less than 35%,” added the actor-turned-filmmaker.

‘Dabangg 3’ featured Salman Khan, Sonakshi Singh, Saee Manjrekar, Sudeep, Arbaaz Khan and Dimple Kapadia in prominent roles.