Sanjay Leela Bhansali recalled Alia Bhatt’s reaction when the latter learnt about Inshallah getting shelved.
Few years ago, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had announced Inshallah with Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt in leading roles. However fans who were eagerly waiting to watch these two stars share screen were in for a major disappointment when the film got shelved.
Recently in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sanjay Leela Bhansali opened up on how Alia was deeply affected when she learnt that Inshallah had got scrapped.
The filmmaker recalled, “I was doing Inshallah with her. Then it suddenly got shelved. She broke down, cracked up, cried, raved, ranted, and locked herself in a room.”
The ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ director revealed that a week later, he offered Alia the leading role in Gangubai Kathiawadi. However, the actress was initially uncertain about pulling off such a character.
“I called her up after one week, and I said you are playing Gangubai. She said, ‘From Los Angeles, where I was supposed to be playing the character (in Inshallah), I have come to Kamathipura. How do I do it? I don’t know this character’. I said, ‘Do you trust me, and do you know me?’ Then I’ll tap into that strong woman in you because I can see it in your eyes. I can see how strong how convinced you are of certain things that you do, I’ve understood your personality’,” Bhansali recalled.
He further added, “How do you tap into an actor who says, ‘I didn’t know I could play the brothel madam. I didn’t know I had a lower pitch, I didn’t know I had to stand there and do this. I’ve started enjoying sir.’
The filmmaker said that Alia ‘just flew into the role’, and added, “She even today sometimes talks like Gangubai. It’s so much a part of it. It’s so beautiful to have believed in her, to have tapped in her.”
Based on S Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’, Gangubai Kathiawadi follows the story of a young girl Gangu, who after being duped and sold into a brothel, reclaims her power over the world where she was once a pawn. The crime drama is based on the true story of Gangubai Kothewali, as documented in Zaidi’s book.
Meanwhile, after Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Alia Bhatt are all set to reunite once again for Love And War co-starring Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.
