Anees Bazmee recalls Divya Bharti’s chilling last line on set before her tragic death forced the team to reshoot the film from scratch with Sridevi.
The making of the 1994 cult hit Laadla remains one of the most emotional and challenging chapters of director Anees Bazmee’s career. Long before Sridevi made the fierce character of Sheetal famous, the film was supposed to feature another rising star as the lead, the late Divya Bharti.
The actress had already filmed several scenes before tragedy struck. Her sudden death on April 5, 1993, left the makers heartbroken and forced them to scrap everything that had been filmed. The role was then given to Sridevi.
In a recent interview with Zoom, Anees Bazmee, who wrote Laadla, recalled the painful period, admitting that nearly 90 to 95 percent of the movie was already complete. The entire team was in shock, and work halted for almost two months while everyone tried to process the tragedy and figure out how to move forward.
Eventually, the makers approached Sridevi to take over the role, but bringing her on board was far from simple. The actress had already turned down both the Tamil version, Mannan, and the Telugu version, Gharana Mogudu.
Knowing her hesitation, Bazmee carefully reworked the Hindi script to fix the elements she disliked. After hearing the fresh narration, Sridevi was impressed by the changes and immediately signed on. Bazmee noted that working with her was a privilege, and her powerhouse performance ultimately elevated the entire film.
The most chilling part of Bazmee’s memory, however, remains his very last day on set with Divya Bharti. The late actress was simultaneously filming two projects written by him, Laadla and Angrakshak, both of which had to be reshot following her demise.
The Welcome director recalled shooting a scene in Chennai just a day before her fatal fall from her fifth-floor Mumbai apartment balcony. In that final shot, Divya walked away from the camera, slowly going out of focus as masked men dragged her away. Her final spoken line on set was simply, “Mujhe bachao” (Save me). The very next morning, the film industry woke up to the heartbreaking news of her death.
Eventually, Laadla made it to the screens with Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Raveena Tandon as the star cast. Helmed by Raj Kanwar, the film also featured Anupam Kher, Farida Jalal, Paresh Rawal, Aruna Irani, Prem Chopra, and Mohnish Behl in supporting roles.
