New Delhi: Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been making to the headlines from quite a while now and the credit goes to his dream project ‘Bajirao Mastani'.
The periodical drama starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, has lately been the talk of town and is doing excellent business at the box office.
‘Bajirao Mastani' was indeed a special project for Bhansali as he had carved the idea 12 years ago. Infact, at that time, the director wanted to make the movie with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and his then girlfriend Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. However, destiny had some other plans and Salman couldn't get the role of Bajirao.
And then there were reports of a conflict between Bhansali and Salman.
Though it's been years since the two shared a cordial relation, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has finally opened up on his differences with the ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan' star.
During an interview to leading daily, film critic Rajeev Masand quizzed him on the same, and asked, "Is your friendship on or off?" To which Sanjay Leela Bhansali said, "Right now, it is off. Salman is a very dear friend of mine. Never have I said a word wrong against him nor will I ever say anything. What he's done for me is incredible. He is a brilliant mind in his own way and he's always stood by me. He has always been very good to me."
When asked what went wrong between the two, he said, "Maybe I could not make a film with him. If I felt or I am wanting to make a certain kind of cinema and I feel he is not right for the film, I can't cast him. I understand he will be upset for that because he expects that out of me."
"He expects a certain kind of love and loyalty. But sometimes, it's important to do the film that you want to. However ruthless I may sound, but as a filmmaker, I live that film I'm making. I am not disregarding him as an actor. Today, it doesn't matter whether I am making a film with him or not because he is cult. He stands there and the film does 300 Crores," SLB said.
Well, though Bhansali has praised Salman Khan quite evidently, we wonder if Salman will forgo his differences with the director and if we will be able to see them working together in the future as they haven't worked together after ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'.