Third villain

Salman Khan is returning as Inspector Chulbul Pandey in the third installment of the ‘Dabangg’ franchise which kicks off in April. Kannada actor Sudeep will play the baddie in the cop-drama. Sudeep and Salman have been planning to team up on a film since a long time and things have finally fallen in place. The two will engage in Tom and Jerry kind of skirmishes in ‘Dabangg 3’.

Sudeep’s character has shades of grey,” informs a source close to the development.

Professional commitments aside, the two have often been spotted bonding over films, body building and sports. The ‘Dabangg’ franchise took off in 2010 with Abhinav Kashyap as the director, and brought cop films back in vogue. The sequel, directed by Arbaaz Khan, was equally successful.