Sanjay Leela Bhansali: People told me you should not make Gangubai Kathiawadi because it’s a women-centric film - Times of India

Alia Bhatt successfully shouldered the responsibility of 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' and delivered an ace helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. As the filmmaker unveiled his next project 'Heeramandi', he also reminisced about his 2022 blockbuster.

Recalling how he was discouraged from making the film, SLB stated, "People told me you should not make Gangubai Kathiawadi, there is no hero, it's a woman-centric film, but it worked. That's what we as filmmakers have to do, believe, and he has to change and make the audience change as well."

Sanjay Leela Bhansali also spoke about the expectations of the audience and added, "Any filmmaker who says he knows the audience is living in a fool's paradise. You never know them, and they are our maap baap. To understand how they are changing is impossible. The filmmaker has to change himself, and do something that the audience doesn't expect out of him. Yes, post-COVID everything has changed, I don't know what they want. So filmmakers have to give new subjects."
'Gangubai Kathiawadi' also featured Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz and Seema Pahwa among others. The film 126 crore gross at the end of its theatrical run.