Dabangg director refuses Sallu, chooses SRK

Abhinav Kashyap said no to Salman Khan's Dabangg 2 because seemingly Shah Rukh Khan gave him a better offer.

After frequent admittance and denial, it was finally reported today that Dabangg director Abhinav Kashyap won't be directing the sequel. The report claimed that Kashyap didn't want to direct the sequel which he expressed to producer-actor Arbaaz Khan. With Abhinav's ouster, Arbaaz has taken over the directorial reins and will be directing the sequel now.

However what is surprising is why did Abhinav Kashyap refuse to direct Dabangg 2 especially since it's a big project, more so after the immense success of the first part? The other side of the story seems to be untold. An industry insider claims, "Arbaaz was not willing to give Abhinav a good price as a director despite Dabangg being a huge hit. Kashyap expected a better remuneration. Other big banners were willing to offer him Rs 2-3 crores but he kept saying no to them because of his attachment to Dabangg . While he didn't expect that kind of money from Arbaaz, he surely expected something better than what he got for his debut film".

But there seems to be an even bigger reason for Abhinav Kashyap to leave Dabangg. "Apparently Salman Khan's archrival Shah Rukh Khan managed to bowl over Kashyap with a mind-boggling offer", claims the source. " SRK is desperate to make a masala film starring himself and wanted Kashyap to direct it for him". As per trade sources Shah Rukh lured Kashyap by offering him a hefty fee of Rs 2 crores.

But over the fact that money is good, Abhinav Kashyap seems more kicked about directing Shah Rukh Khan. "Also Shah Rukh was willing to offer complete creative freedom to Kashyap in terms of directing the film", adds the source. "It's a known fact that Salman Khan had things go his way during the making of Dabangg . Lines in the script were changed at the last minute. Also Abhinav did not sit for the editing".

Kashyap seems to have taken a Dabangg step of shifting loyalties from Shah Rukh to Salman. Let's see if he is able to recreate the same success with the other big Khan of Bollywood.