Entertainment
7 Dogs: All about Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt’s international action thriller, cast, budget, story, release date & more
Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt will reunite on screen in a little surprising movie. They are starring in 7 Dogs, a Saudi Arabian backed motion film which is made by Bad Boys producers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Although these Bollywood actors are not the leads in the film, their cameo appearance is one of the biggest aspects related to the film.
And now, fans in India have one more reason to wait for this movie: Salman Khan has revealed that 7 Dogs will be premiered in the Indian cinemas on August 21, 2026. The announcement of the date has been made after the completion of the film’s release in the Middle East.
Here is everything that one needs to know about this international action movie.
What is 7 Dogs about?
7 Dogs is an action-thriller film in Arabic that revolves around an unexpected alliance between a criminal and an Interpol officer.
The plot revolves around Khalid Al-Azzazi, an Interpol agent played by Ahmed Ezz. Khalid crosses paths with Ghali Abu Daoud, a senior member of the 7 Dogs gang, played by Karim Abdel Azi. After the criminal organisation is seen making a comeback with a new drug called Pink Lady, Khalid has to collaborate with Ghali to get access into the crime syndicate and stop its activities. Their mission takes place in different locations and features crime, intelligence, human trafficking, and plenty of action.
Therefore, the film isn’t an ordinary Bollywood film in which Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt act.
Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt’s roles in 7 Dogs
The biggest reason behind the film’s earning attention in India is Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt.
Both of the actors have a special/cameo appearance in the film. Their scenes are not the main plot of the movie, but the audience has generated a lot of buzz due to the previous strong on-screen connection between both the stars in the Bollywood film industry.
The trailer has shown some glimpses of both actors and their appearances become one of the hottest topics of the film among the Indian audience.
Interestingly, the involvement of Salman and Sanjay in 7 Dogs adds a Bollywood element to the movie when it is, in fact, an Arab movie.
Who are the main stars?
The principal cast is led by two of Egypt’s biggest stars:
• Karim Abdel Aziz as Ghali Abu Daoud
• Ahmed Ezz as Interpol agent Khalid Al-Azzazi
• Monica Bellucci as Giulia Leoni
• Giancarlo Esposito as Roman
• Martin Lawrence as Barney
• Salman Khan
• Sanjay Dutt
• Tara Emad
• Hana El Zahed
• Sayed Ragab
• Nasser Al Qasabi
• Max Huang
The cast therefore brings together talent from Egyptian cinema, Bollywood and Hollywood.
Who directed 7 Dogs?
7 Dogs has been directed by a Belgian Moroccan film director duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
The two directors have garnered fame worldwide for their work in the Bad Boys franchise. They also worked on Marvel’s Ms. Marvel.
The story behind 7 Dogs is significant since this movie involves a new step into major Arabic action filmmaking from the world-famous directors without losing their flair.
A Saudi-backed global production
In doing so, 7 Dogs is not a typical Bollywood production as it was produced with the backing of Saudi Arabia’s flourishing movie industry.
This production is affiliated with the General Entertainment Authority and Riyadh season, and most of the shooting took place in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hosn Big Time Studios in Riyadh became one of the important locations.
The production budget was estimated to be around $40 million, which means it made the list of the biggest and most costly Arabic-speaking films.
Why is the film called 7 Dogs?
This term refers to the secretive group that can be found in the core of the narrative, the 7 Dogs crime syndicate.
This group is also tied to the main struggle of the feature surrounding the issue of international crime and drug trafficking as a result of which both the Interpol agent and the criminal figure were forced to collaborate.
The tagline of the film, “Not all dogs are loyal” goes in line with the premise of the movie, too.
Where was 7 Dogs filmed?
Most of the scenes of the motion picture were filmed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, particularly in the Al-Hosn Big Time Studios.
The making of this film has been massive in terms of the use of special effects and practical sets, implementing a number of explosions, stunts and car scenes.
The film also has an international context, as its events take place in various cities.
When did 7 Dogs release internationally?
The sweet film made its debut in the shops in May 2026, starting with the countries of the Middle East and reaching Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries at the end of May.
It
When will 7 Dogs release in India?
While earlier reports had announced May 28, 2026 as the India release date, that schedule has since changed. Salman Khan announced on August 10 that 7 Dogs will now arrive in Indian theatres on August 21, 2026.
Why 7 Dogs is important for Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt fans?
7 Dogs is a notable project in the Bollywood world because of the fact that Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt team up for a film that is not a typical Hindi film but an international movie.
Both actors have enjoyed a longstanding friendship and their pairing has been successful due to their good chemistry on screen. Fans are already looking forward to their performances in 7 Dogs, both actors will appear for the first time in such an unconventional film.
Their collaboration in 7 Dogs is not the only interesting thing about the film. The young film industry in Saudi Arabia is developing and expanding internationally and so, Saudi Arabia becomes a part of the international film community. The production of the film brings together talents and stars from different countries, ranging from Egyptian stars to Hollywood professionals.
So, for Indian audiences, 7 Dogs is more than just “the Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt movie”. It is a large Arabic action thriller made with participation of Bollywood stars.
