'Dabangg 3' has more to it than just masala: Salman Khan

Salman Khan on Wednesday said that a film's sequels are often not able to replicate the success of the original and that is why he has worked extra hard on "Dabangg 3". The film, directed by Prabhu Deva, brings the 53-year-old superstar back in the avatar of Chulbul Pandey, the Robin Hood-like cop which he first played in the 2010 original. 

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"The third one should be the biggest of the lot. Usually sequels don't do as well as he first one so we have really worked hard on this one, not just on action but it also has a story. When you see the film, you will get to know that there is lot more than just masala to this film," Salman told reporters at the film's trailer launch. 

In addition to Hindi, the film, which is third in the superstar's blockbuster "Dabangg" franchise, will be released in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. The actor is betting big on the film to do well in South India market as he believes it will resonate with the audiences there with its theme of heroism.

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"I have had that (films releasing in South) earlier but the collection has been Rs one crore or Rs two crore. But this is about heroism. The whole of South is filled with that (heroism). Their films come here and we accept them. Like 'Baahubali', 'KGF', they are huge hits here. They are also open to our films releasing there."

In a lighter vein, Salman joked that he initially attempted to dub the film in a South Indian language but failed to do so correctly. "I was going to dub it in all the three languages. I felt it is a simple language. When Prabhu Deva heard it, he said it is not sounding right and then we went for other artiste."

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He said "Dabangg 3" has been his most demanding project till now. "We have really worked very hard on this film, we have worked ten times harder than 'Tiger' (series) and other films. From story to production to direction to action to songs to the whole creative journey, this time a lot of work has gone into making this 'Dabangg'."

Sonakshi Sinha and Arbaaz Khan will reprise their roles from the original film. The film will mark the acting debut of Sai Manjrekar, daughter of Mahesh Manjrekar, who was present at the event. "We had locked the story long back but I was doing other films and we wanted to crack it correctly in every which way. Also, our heroine (Sai) was little younger so we had to wait for her."

"Dabangg 3" is scheduled to be released on 20 December.