Dabangg 3: Kiccha Sudeep's first look as antagonist Balli from Salman Khan's upcoming cop comedy revealed

Kiccha Sudeep’s first look as Balli in the upcoming cop comedy, Dabangg 3 , was released on Tuesday. The Kannada actor plays villain to Salman Khan’s Chulbul Pandey.

In the image, Sudeep glares into the camera as he stands against a backdrop of destruction.

Here is the first look still of Sudeep

Villain jitna bada ho, usse bhidne mein utna hi mazaa aata hai.
Introducing Sudeep Kiccha as Balli in 'Dabangg 3'.#KicchaSudeepInDabangg3@KicchaSudeep @arbaazSkhan @sonakshisinha @saieemmanjrekar @PDdancing @nikhil_dwivedi @SKFilmsOfficial @saffronbrdmedia pic.twitter.com/vvZYvroHYF

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) October 8, 2019

The shooting of Dabangg 3 concluded on 6 October , coinciding with the birth anniversary of Vinod Khanna, who played Prajapati Pandey in the film.

Sudeep told _Press Trust of Indi_a the makers of Dabangg 3, including Salman, were unsure whether he would take up the role. He was recently seen in Chiranjeevi’s historical magnum opus, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy , as  Avuku Raja , and played a wrestler in cinematographer-turned-director S Krishna’s sports drama,  Pailwaan .

“The credit goes to Sohail (Khan) ji for Dabangg 3. He proposed everybody about me, and everyone thought Sudeep will refuse. Salman sir also thought the same, thinking, that he is a big actor what will he come and do. But later the team, including Salman sir, approached me. Prabhu Deva sir came to Mysore to narrate me the story, and he had beautifully written that role,” he said.

As per media reports, Arbaaz Khan will once again play Makkhi, while Sonakshi Sinha will be seen as Chulbul’s wife, Rajjo. Vinod’s brother Pramod Khanna will play Prajapati in the third instalment. Dimple Kapadia will  reportedly reprise  the role of Chulbul Pandey’s mother Naini Devi in Dabangg 3, and appear in a flashback sequence.

Directed by Prabhu Deva_, Dabangg 3_ is produced by Salman Khan Films and Arbaaz Khan Production. It is scheduled to release on 20 December in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil for a pan-India audience.