While Alia Bhatt has been finalized for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, reports suggest that originally it was Rani Mukerji who was supposed to be cast for it.
According to a report in The Times Of India, Priyanka Chopra too had been considered since SLB had been working with her on Bajirao Mastani during that time. “Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Gangubai Kathiawadi was initially to be made with Rani Mukerji in the lead. However, things didn’t work out with Rani and that’s when he decided to ask Priyanka Chopra while filming Bajirao Mastani. The project couldn’t take off as PeeCee was running on a tight schedule while also pursuing a career in Hollywood.”
However, the project finally landed in Alia’s lap since the actress had already given her dates to the movie Inshallah, that got shelved later. The source adds, “When ‘Inshallah’ got shelved, Bhansali already had a film ready to take on floors. With Alia’s dates booked, he decided to green-light Gangubai which was in the making for a very long time. SLB is also known to revisit his films again and again.”
The same report also said that SLB’s other two films Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani had been the shelve for the longest time before Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were finalised and taken on board.
It looks like for the actress, things are on the right track. Alia has been proving her talent with back to back strong performances in movies like Highway, Udta Punjab, Raazi, and Gully Boy. Gangubai Kathiawadi might be just one another feather on her cap.
Based on Husain Zaidi’s novel, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, the movie will be based on a girl who was forced into prostitution at a young age but turns out to be a rebel, joining hands with the underworld, and becoming one of the most influential women of Mumbai.