“I went to audition for the little girl’s role for Sanjay sir’s film Black. I don’t know how I performed but from that day I have been waiting to be directed by him. That was at age nine and my dream was finally fulfilled at the age of 29 when I got to act in Gangubai Kathiawadi” said Alia Bhatt at the song launch of Meri Jaan in Kolkata.

The press meet took place at the iconic Priya Cinema.

Alia Bhatt looked dazzling in a white sari and deep-neck blouse. The actress tried a Sandesh that she was offered at the event. “It has been such a long time since I came to Kolkata to promote my film and also gorge on a Sandesh” added the actress.

This is the 25th year of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and this is his 10th directorial film.

The film is loosely based on the true story of Gangubai Harjivandas, popularly known as Gangubai Kothewali. Her life was documented in the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai written by S. Hussain Zaidi. The film shows the rise of a simple girl from Kathiawad who had no choice but to embrace the ways of destiny.

“Sanjay sir is not a hard taskmaster or any of the things that people associate him with. He is actually very sincere in his art form. He expects the cast to give in their fullest as he himself does the same. For a particular scene, he thinks of shooting the scene from several different angles and then decides on the best angle to retain for the film” said Alia.

The actress who has been delivering back-to-back hit films said that she is looking forward to the day when films will not be branded as women-centric. “The actors are not asked about their experiences of working in a male-centric film. Then why should the actresses be asked this question?” asked Alia.

The song Meri Jaan was one of the difficult and memorable shots in the film. It was difficult because it was shot with a single camera in a car. It was also the last shot for this film and they did multiple retakes for the shot. The other scene that the actress found memorable was the Dholida song. She shot for a 50-second shot. She thought that she would not be able to complete the shot.

The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and received positive feedback from the audience.

“I was initially skeptical whether I will be able to play the role of Gangubai. I have a baby face and I am not too tall either. Sanjay sir believed in me and he said that I need to believe in myself for playing the role. Since I did not have the towering height or a mature face, I tried my best to do everything with my eyes” said the actress.

Shantanu Maheshwari, Ajay Devgn, Huma Qureshi, Vijay Raaz, and others will be seen in pivotal roles in this film.

Produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Dr. Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios), the film is all set to release theatrically on 25th February 2022.

Priyanka Dutta