'There can never be enough Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt': ‘7 Dogs’ directors praise their charisma, craft and screen presence, call working with them ‘like going to film school’

'7 Dogs' marked more than just an international action film for directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The Belgian-Moroccan duo had limited exposure to contemporary Bollywood before taking on the project, but that shifted quickly once they started working alongside Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Between catching up on the actors' filmography and living through the chaos of shooting with them in Mumbai, the directors say the whole experience taught them more than they expected.In an interview with India Today, Adil said, "We had heard of them but we were not as familiar. When we knew that we were going to work with Salman, and because we love history, we watched 'Bharat' (2019) because it's such an important movie about the history of India. And when we watched 'Dhurandhar' (2025) for Sanjay. We're starting to get more and more familiar with what modern Bollywood movies are, and also the high level of mastery in visual style, directing, acting, and it's like going to film school working with them."The very first meeting proved equally overwhelming for the directors. "When they came, they have a lot of charisma; you know they're already legendary," Adil said, likening the experience of meeting Salman and Sanjay to meeting Will Smith. "It has the same vibe as meeting Will Smith for the first time." "It's crazy how much presence they have and also, again, they were very humble and sweet and friendly to everybody. We say action and then, you know, on the script it's maybe a couple of lines, but they create something totally new and then add so many layers and lines. They made it so enjoyable," he added.Adil and Bilall also found themselves learning from the two stars' deep understanding of cinema. "They are filmmakers," Adil said of Salman and Sanjay, noting that their experience and outlook on Indian cinema "enriched" the film. Addressing fan concerns about the stars' limited screen time, the filmmaker weighed in, "There can never be enough Salman and Sanjay."The film's cast also includes Ahmed Ezz, Karim Abdel Aziz, Monica Bellucci, Nasser Al Qasabi, and Max Huang, among others.