When you think of bad actors, Arbaaz Khan is a name that pops up into your mind – like Bobby Deol and Fardeen Khan. It’s actors like him who make us feel that nepotism is ruining Bollywood, and killing the dreams of many talented youngsters. 

But we’ll let you know that even though Arbaaz Khan is undoubtedly a terrible actor, he isn’t a complete failure. His films as a producer and a director has hit box-office gold, and how. Even acting wise, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a negative role for his debut film Daraar. 

He produced the first Dabangg, and directed (and produced) the next one. “Honestly, I always had the silent ambition of being a director. I have not just been a mere producer; I have been involved with Abhinav on various aspects of the film, so when this opportunity arose, we had a void as to who will direct the film. I felt nobody, at that point in time and in the given circumstances, would be better suited to step in and take charge than myself, so I did it,” he said in an interview with Rediff. 

Yes, he also produced Dolly Ki Doli starring Sonam Kapoor, which failed. And he hasn’t directed any other movie other than Dabangg 2. That said, these successes prove that he shouldn’t just be recognized as a younger brother to Salman. 

In fact, in an interview with Filmfare, he revealed, “I began as an assistant director to Mahesh Bhatt sahab on films like Zulm, Kabza and Aawargi during the ’80s. Then I got an opportunity to act and I took it up thinking direction was something which I could always pursue later.” 

He even added that Salman didn’t treat him as a younger brother, because he was committed to the common objective of making a great film. “I don’t believe Salman made any concessions for me. I was still a debutant director and he a big star. Though I could put forth my views there were arguments galore. Sometimes he fought to put across his point, sometimes I did. We agreed and we also disagreed over the creatives. Sometimes he relented, sometimes I had to. It depended on whose conviction was stronger. It felt nice to know that he trusted me on most counts. And even when we disagreed, we never packed up because of our differences like some people do,” Arbaaz said in the same interview with Filmfare. 

We hope Arbaaz makes many more films in the future, and has an even more successful career directing and producing films. Why wish bad for anyone?