When Alia Bhatt Locked Herself After Inshallah Got Shelved, Sanjay Leela Bhansali Revealed

Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Alia Bhatt gave an iconic film titled Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022). This was Alia’s first collaboration with the ace filmmaker, and the movie was a huge success at the box office. However, little do the people know that this wasn’t the first project on which the actress and the ace filmmaker came on board. Alia desperately wanted to work with Bhansali, but one big project on which she was supposed to collaborate with SLB couldn’t see the light of day.

She was going to be paired opposite Salman Khan in Bhansali’s Inshallah. However, the film got shelved due to some creative differences between the filmmaker and Khan. The project fell all of a sudden, and Alia Bhatt was unhappy over it.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali Shares Alia Bhatt’s Emotional Fallout From Inshallah Shelving

According to the Indian Express, during an earlier interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sanjay Leela Bhansali mentioned that Alia was so dejected after the shelving of Inshallah that she locked herself in a room. He said, “I was doing Inshallah with her, and suddenly the project got shelved. She broke down, she cracked up, she cried, raved, ranted, and locked herself in a room. Then, I called her up after one week and said, ‘You’re playing Gangubai’. She said, ‘‘ I was going to play a character in Los Angeles and now I’ve come to Kamathipura, how will I do it? I don’t know this.”

Alia Bhatt Broke Down After Inshallah Got Shelved, Revealed Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Photo Credit – Instagram)However, Bhansali instilled faith in her and said that it was his job as a director to tap into the actor in her and bring out the best. SLB added, “I will tap into that strong woman in you, because I can see it in your eyes. I can see how convinced you are of certain things because of your personality. That is my job as a director… How do you tap into an actor, and then they say, ‘I didn’t know I could play a brothel madame, I didn’t know I had a lower pitch, I didn’t know I could stand and do this, I started enjoying it’. She just flew into the role. Even today, sometimes, she talks like Gangubai.”

Gangubai Kathiawadi: A Career-Defining Collaboration

He stayed true to his words and crafted a pure art film that brought laurels for himself and Alia Bhatt. The film, made on a budget of nearly Rs 100 crore, fetched almost 209.77 crore at the box office. It fetched a National Award for Best Actress to Alia Bhatt. At the 68th Filmfare Awards, Gangubai Kathiawadi received 17 nominations, getting Alia Bhatt the award for Best Actress and Sanjay Leela Bhansali the award for Best Director.

What’s Next For Sanjay Leela Bhansali & Alia Bhatt

The fans are now eagerly looking forward to Bhansali’s next film, titled Love and War, which stars Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, and Alia Bhatt. The film is expected to hit the theatres next year on March 20, 2026.

Apart from this, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is reviving his shelved project Baiju Bawra, with Ranbir Kapoor reportedly stepping in for Ranveer Singh in the lead role. Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt has been signed for Yash Raj Films’ upcoming spy thriller Alpha, starring alongside Sharvari Wagh.