'...much like her stepmother-in-law Helen': Abhinav Kashyap accuses Arbaaz Khan of opposing Malaika Arora's performance in Munni Badnaam

Abhinav Kashyap recently spoke about Arbaaz Khan being uncomfortable with his then-wife Malaika Arora performing in the hit item song Munni Badnaam Hui in a new interview.

Convincing Arbaaz to approve

Talking to Bollywood Thikana, Abhinav said, “They were uncomfortable with Malaika’s presentation in the song. They were worried it would look vulgar because it was a raunchy number. But I had assured them, Malaika had already carved her own identity in item songs, much like her stepmother-in-law Helen. I fought to have her in the song, but Arbaaz specifically didn’t want her to do it.”

Family conservatism and disagreements

Earlier, in an interview with SCREEN, the filmmaker revealed that Arbaaz was initially not comfortable with Malaika Arora doing the iconic item song. He didn’t want his wife to be called an ‘item girl.’ Abhinav also said that despite their cool image, Arbaaz and Salman come from a conservative Muslim family, and Malaika had her own disagreements with Salman over her outfits, as they preferred women to dress more modestly.



Abhinav also mentioned that Malaika is a strong, independent woman who makes her own choices. She agreed to do the song, but it took some convincing for Arbaaz to approve. She assured him it was just a fun, family-friendly dance number—and it went on to become a massive hit.

He added that he chose Malaika Arora for 'Munni Badnaam Hui' because of her amazing dancing skills. Already famous for hits like 'Chaiyyaa Chaiyyaa' and 'Hoth Rasiley,' Malaika hadn’t done many acting roles. Her dance talent and star power made her the perfect choice to carry the song and capture audience attention.

Salman Khan responds to Abhinav’s claims

Meanwhilem Salman Khan had recently addressed all of Abhinav's claims against him and his family. He said, “Ek Dabangg insaan hai… sabke bare mein bolta hai. Maine pichle weekend kaha tha, kaam karo yaar, nobody’s interested. Kaam mila kya bhai? Aise harkatein karne ke baad koi aapke saath kaam nahi karega. (There’s one Dabangg man. He has dragged even Aamir into this along with me. Last weekend on Weekend Ka Vaar, I had said, ‘Just focus on your work, yaar. Nobody’s interested.’ So I want to ask again. Have you got any work, brother? And after behaving like this, they’ll never work with you.)"



Elaborating further, he added, “Mujhe sirf yeh bura lagta hai ki apne aap ko destroy kar diya. Agar kisike parivar ke peeche padna hai, toh apne parivar ke peeche padho. Maa-baap se pyar karo, biwi-bachchon ka khayal rakho. Tum talented ho, achha likhte ho, ghalat raasta mat lo, wapas highway pe aa jao. (What really makes me sad is that you’ve destroyed yourself. If you want to go after someone’s family, go after your own family. Love your brother, love your parents, take care of your wife and children. You’re talented, you write well. Don’t go down the wrong path, come back to the highway.”