Dabangg director Abhinav Kashyap, who has made several accusations against the film's star Salman Khan and his family, recalled an incident on set where he fainted. He alleged that Salman was trying to take over the project and install his brother Arbaaz Khan as the film's director, after all the dialogue scenes had already been shot. In an interview, Abhinav said that he wanted to quit the project badly due to the alleged harassment, but was advised by a well-wisher to not throw in the towel. He was given the example of director Amole Gupte, who was originally helming Taare Zameen Par, before the project was taken over by star Aamir Khan. In an interview with Bollywood Thikana, Abhinav said that he came close to quitting Dabangg many times, and that towards the latter half of production, he would avoid any unnecessary interactions with Salman. "These people harassed me to the point where I wanted to quit, because they wanted a reason to tell the media that I wasn't up to the mark, and wanted to install Arbaaz Khan as the director. But that didn't happen. The credit goes to my friend Sunil Vohra, who introduced me to Arbaaz," Abhinav said. Also read - Anurag Kashyap’s brother reveals they aren’t on talking terms, gives warning: ‘He slapped me; our mother is waiting for him with a chappal’ He continued, "One evening, Salman and I had an argument, and he spoke so rudely to me that I had to give it back. He accused me of siphoning money, called me a thief. I said that if I am so incompetent and a thief, why do you still have me? And he clearly told me, 'Toh jaa na, tujhe roka kisne hai (Go then, who's stopping you)?' I was so hurt, I fainted. I had a blackout for two or three minutes, and I sat down on the ground." Abhinav said that few days after the incident, he didn't go to the film's Panchgani set during some action shooting. Arbaaz, who was the film's producer, had also gone back to Mumbai. Abhinav had decided that he would wait for Arbaaz to return, and then quit the film. But his friend happened to be in Panchgani at the same time, and came by to visit. "He told me not to quit, because that's what they want. 'Tere saath Amole Gupte ho jayega'," Abhinav recalled, referring to Amole Gupte being removed as the director of Taare Zameen Par only a few years prior. Abhinav said that he reduced all interaction with Salman, and kept mostly to his room. "Somehow, I completed the film," he said. In past interviews to Bollywood Thikana, Abhinav said that Salman and his family routinely harassed him during the making of the film, and that it was his decision to not return for the sequels. He also alleged that Rs 8 lakh was spent just to hide Salman's dark circles with VFX, and that Salman would regularly show up late to work and keep the entire unit waiting. Salman indirectly addressed the allegations on a recent episode of Bigg Boss.
