“Salman Khan Is A Mega-Star, Totally Inaccessible With The Cult Status Of Rajinikanth Sir”: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

After almost two decades, celebrated filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali announced his next collaboration with superstar Salman Khan. The duo will be seen together in the next titled Inshallah which will also star Alia Bhatt. This grand announcement was made by Salman and Alia on their respective Twitter accounts.

The Padmaavat director recently spoke to Mumbai Mirror and spoke about Salman and Alia. Ask him how Salman gave a nod for this film, he said, “It was a beautiful, breezy evening. We were sitting in the lawn of his home, and as soon as the narration ended, Salman turned to me, saying, “When do we start?” It took me back to my two-and-a-half-hour narration of Khamoshi: The Musical. We were in his bedroom then and he kept looking at himself in the mirror. I was wondering if he’d even heard me, but when I finished, he told me exactly what he’d liked in the story, making me realise that he is very sharp, and one shouldn’t presume anything with him. We’ve had a few issues in the past but whenever we met, even sporadically, we took up from where we’d left off without dwelling on the past and the difference of opinions we might have had. My fondness for him is pure, and Salman, once he offers his friendship, even if you don’t meet or talk in five years, he’s there waiting for you. He’s never told me that he’s liked a shot, a song or a film I’ve made but has expressed his appreciation for my work to others when he didn’t need to.”

When he was asked if Salman has changed in all these years, Bhansali said he’s a megastar yet he is still a simple guy with a pure heart. “Oh yes, today he’s a mega-star, totally inaccessible, with the cult status of Rajinikanth sir, yet deep down he’s still a simple guy with a pure heart and a noble soul. After Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Saawariya, he and I needed to make one film together, if not 10 more. I’m glad Inshallah happened. From my understanding of him, as a man, an actor and a superstar, I know this is the right film for us to come together. I’ve been working on it for the last year-and-a-half, starting three months before Padmaavat released, to take my mind off things that were happening at the time. I wrote and reworked till I felt it was ready, then, went to him. It’s my 10th film, I want it to be my best.”

Further talking about Inshallah, Bhansali said that it is a younger film. He said, “It’s a younger film, the kind I’ve wanted to make for a long time after all the dark, intense, overdramatic ones. Life is not only about dark nights, but it’s also about beautiful sunshiny mornings. It’s a new chapter for me as a filmmaker.”

Sanjay also spoke about how Alia came on board. He recalled an incident while shooting for Black and she had come for the audition. “Alia is an extremely young actress with a lot of magic. She fits the role beautifully. When she was nine, she’d come with her mother (Soni Razdan) to audition for Black. I saw the sparkle in her eyes. I told Soni I wouldn’t audition her for a child’s role because I knew she was a Hindi film heroine. Later, I went to Soni and Mahesh (Bhatt) and told them I wanted their girl, but that project didn’t happen. Inshallah, this one will be a beautiful journey,” he concluded.

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