Alia Bhatt confirmed as SLB's 'Gangubai'
It is finally confirmed that Alia Bhatt will be playing 'Gangubai', a rustic Maharashtrian character, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next directorial. Some may find this hard to imagine considering how urbane Alia is, but Bhansali has already imagined her looks and personality based on various Maharashtrian women whom he admires. 'Gangubai' is one of Bhansali's dream projects that he has nurtured for many years. He even planned the film with Priyanka Chopra a few years ago, but God and Nick Jonas had other plans.
The decision to cast Alia in the role was taken even before Bhansali's other project Inshallah with Alia and Salman Khan fell through. "Bhansali had made up his mind to cast Alia as Gangubai after doing workshops with her for 'Inshallah'. Her dedication, passion, enthusiasm, and the will to excel simply bowled him over. Sanjay knew Alia was his Gangubai. What he didn't know was that he would end up doing 'Gangubai' in lieu of 'Inshallah'."
