‘Alia Bhatt as Gangubai Kathiawadi could be at par with Nargis, Seema Biswas, Meena Kumari,' says Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has high praise for his film Gangubai Kathiawadi's lead actor, Alia Bhatt. He even called her performance at par with some of India's acting icons.

Pen Movies has released a new video that shows actor Alia Bhatt interviewing her film Gangubai Kathiawadi's director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In the interview, Alia asked Sanjay about how nervous he was ahead of the film's release, how personal the project was for him and more. Gangubai Kathiawadi released last month to positive reviews and even raked in substantial money at the box office.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has compared Alia Bhatt's Gangubai Kathiawadi performance to some all time greats of Hindi cinema.

Alia asked Bhansali in the interview when he finally breathed a sigh of relief after the film's release. He said, “That moment happened in Berlin. We saw the film there, had our first press conference and I enjoyed that moment. I think I was a little more confident because you were sitting next to me and blabbering away, non-stop talking. That’s where I felt it has been received correctly and got people to stand up and clap for the next five minutes.”

Bhansali also had high praise for Alia and her performance in the movie. “This film matters to Indian cinema because here was a performance that I think will be celebrated for the next 50-100 years. It could be at par with Nargis Ji in Mother India, at par with Seema Biswas in Bandit Queen, Meena Kumari in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. This is the fourth performance I would talk of in the same league. So this film mattered. Here is a girl who is taking a whole film on her shoulder," he said. 

Nargis, Seema and Meena Kumari are counted among the greatest acting icons of India. All three of them won the Best Actress Filmfare Awards for their performances in the said movies.

Alia plays the madam of a brothel in Gangubai Kathiawadi, who rises to power as the district's leader. The film also features Ajay Devgn, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa and others.