Alia Bhatt was not the first choice for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiyawadi?

According to sources, for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiyawadi, Alia Bhatt was not the first choice. Earlier there were also rumours of Priyanka Chopra being approached for the lead role in the film. But even through all of this, Bhansali’s first choice for the lead role was a different actor. Read more about it here.  

Was Rani Mukerji the first choice for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiyawadi?  

According to reports, it was decided to cast Rani Mukerji as the lead for Gangubai Kathiyawadi. But apparently, there were no talks with the star for the film. Things did not work out and Bhansali decided to ask Priyanka Chopra while filming Bajirao Mastani. The project had to be put on hold as Chopra was running on a tight schedule during that time.  

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Later when the director’s Inshallah got shelved, he already had another film on the charts. With Bhatt's dates already booked, Sanjay Leela Bhansali decided to put Gangubai Khathiawadi into action. Bhansali is known to revisit his films over and over again before finalising them.  

According to reports, his other two films, Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani had also been on the shelf for a long time before Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were finalised for it. Alia Bhatt has been proving her talents with films like Raazi, Highway, Gully Boy, Udta Punjab and more. Gangubai Kathiyawadi might just prove to be another one of those films. 

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Gangubai Kathiyawadi is based on a novel by Hussain Zaidi titled Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The plot revolves around a girl who was forced into prostitution at a very young age but turns out to be a rebel. She ends up joining hands with the underworld and eventually becomes one of the most influential women in India.  

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