Sanjay Leela Bhansali to Cast Alia Bhatt in His Film on Gangubai?

Alia Bhatt was supposed to star in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah, which has been shelved.

Alia Bhatt might play Gangubai Kothewali in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next.

(Photo Courtesy: Pinterest)

After Inshallah was shelved, there have been a lot of speculations as to what Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next project would be. Recently, Alia Bhatt has been spotted outside the filmmaker’s house quite a few times, leading to a fresh rumour that the duo might be collaborating for a new project. Now, according to a report in mid-day, Alia and Bhansali are teaming up for a film on Gangubai Kothewali. As of now, the movie has been titled Gangubai.

Priyanka Chopra was in talks about playing the protagonist in the film on Gangubai, but it seems that she is very busy with the Mindy Kaling film and The White Tiger adaptation

“Bhansali is not someone to break his promise. After his reported fallout with Salman Khan, he has started scripting his next film with Alia Bhatt on brothel owner Gangubai. The film will be an adaptation of a chapter from S Husain Zaidi’s Mafia Queens Of Mumbai,” a source told mid-day.

Earlier, Priyanka Chopra was in talks about playing the protagonist in the film, but it seems that she is very busy with the Mindy Kaling film and The White Tiger adaptation.

It was also reported that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s project on the same subject, Heera Mandi, which was conceived as a film, is reportedly going to be turned into a web series.

“The first web offering will be a series on the life and times of the female gangster Gangubai Kothewali. Heera Mandi is apparently in the final stage of the writing and will go on floors later this year”, a source had told peepingmoon.com.

Gangubai Kothewali was one of the most dreaded pimps of Kamathipura – the red light area of Mumbai. She ran many brothels and is hailed as a woman who fought for the rights of sex workers and protected many women who were forced into the trade.