Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali revealed that Alia Bhatt had an emotional response when their film Inshallah was shelved, said “she cracked up, cried, raved, ranted, and locked herself in a room.” In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Bhansali shared how Bhatt reacted when offered the lead role in Gangubai Kathiawadi instead.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali reveals Alia Bhatt’s reaction to Inshallah being shelved: “She broke down, cried, locked herself in a room”
Sanjay said, “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. Then 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’.”
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.’ And she just flew into the role. 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.”
Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is a crime drama featuring Alia Bhatt in the lead role. The film is adapted from S. Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai and tells the story of Gangu, who is sold into a brothel in Mumbai’s Kamathipura. The cast also includes Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari, Seema Pahwa, Jim Sarbh, and Ajay Devgn.
On the work front, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Alia Bhatt will collaborate again in Love and War, which also features Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal. The film is set to hit theaters on March 20, 2026, and is expected to begin production in the coming months.
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