'Will never work with him...': Kareena Kapoor slammed Sanjay Leela Bhansali
- By Web Desk -
- Jul 12, 2023
Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor once vowed to ‘never work’ with ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali again after being replaced in ‘Devdas’.
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Kareena Kapoor is one of the most successful actors of the current generation in Indian cinema, who has proved her talent across the genres and has worked with the biggest of filmmakers. However, have you noticed that, unlike her contemporaries, the actor never featured in a quintessential Bhansali magnum opus?
The reason is their feud which dates back to the 90s and early 2000s when Kapoor publicly vowed to never work with the veteran director after being replaced in his film ‘Devdas’.
In an earlier interview with a magazine, Kapoor had said, “I’ll never. What he did to me was wrong. He screen-tested me for Devdas, gave me a signing amount, [and] then took someone else. That was wrong.”
“It hurt especially because I was at the start of my career. It’s okay, because the day he dropped me, I signed Yaadein. Sanjay hurt me. Even if I have no work, I’ll never work with him,” she had said.
Reacting to the claim, Bhansali told a publication that she was never finalized for the film. “She came to my house with Neeta Lulla and said she wanted to work with me… I told her that I hadn’t seen her work and that before casting her, I needed to see what she was capable of. We fixed up a photo shoot with the right costumes. Since Babitaji and Karisma Kapoor were also at the shoot, I made it clear to all of them that the shoot wasn’t a confirmation that I would cast Kareena. They were okay with that at the time,” the veteran noted.
He further explained, “After going through the photographs, I told Kareena that I felt Aishwarya Rai was fabulous and perfect for Paro; she has the aristocratic looks I required. Kareena didn’t say a word then but some days later I found her lashing out at me in print. She accused me of backing out after having given her the signing amount and contract. Believe me, this is not true.”
“She also said I didn’t know how to make films,” Bhansali had asserted.
One of the biggest commercial and critical successes, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s romance drama was based on the same-titled novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. It starred a hit pair of then, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles of Devdas and Paro respectively, while Madhuri Dixit essayed the tailored role of Chandramukhi.
While it opened to mixed reviews from critics, the cult hit was a major commercial success emerging as the highest-grossing film of the year and bagged several accolades.
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