Is there a rift between Salman Khan and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali? Seems so. The chain of events since last night suggests that all is not well between one of the topmost stars of Bollywood and one of the best filmmakers we have.
Last night (25th August), Salman tweeted that In-shaa-Allah, starring himself and Alia Bhatt and being directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, would not keep its date with the audience. Even before shooting could begin, In-shaa-Allah was announced as the Eid release of 2020. But Salman’s tweet of last night suggested that the film would be delayed. The superstar only hinted in the same tweet that he would still meet the public on the coveted day, making people wonder what that meant. It was being speculated that Dabangg 3 had been postponed and it would now hit the screens on Eid next year instead of Christmas this year. But that was mere speculation.
Anyway, that’s not the story. The shocker came when Bhansali announced this morning (26th August) that he had shelved In-shaa-Allah. This one announcement has underlined that Salman was probably not even aware that the film was not going to be made. Insiders say that there were differences between the maverick filmmaker and the star with regards to the script and the casting in important roles. There was also a disagreement over the sharing of rights of the film. The tension has been going on since almost two months. The parties on both the sides thought, things would settle, especially in view of the fact that Bhansali and Khan have had a long-standing relationship which began with Khamoshi and continued in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Why, Salman also played a cameo role in the filmmaker’s Saawariya. But that was not to be. After hopes of a resolution to the problems, the reality hit Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Saturday (24th August) that the stalemate was not going to end. That’s when he took the decision of shelving the film… shelving it despite having shot a song with the participation of Alia Bhatt, shelving it in spite of the fact that a huge and expensive set for the film, erected at a cost of several crores of rupees, stood erected at Mehboob Studios. Rather than be dictated by his star, Bhansali opted to move on by simply shelving the film. His announcement barely 12 hours after his hero’s tweet (about the film not keeping its date with the audience) underlined that Salman was also probably caught unawares. Of course, Salman Khan’s fans and Bhansali’s fans are sad. This was one potential blockbuster which they were so fondly looking forward to.
Truly, despite a title like In-shaa-Allah, Allah, perhaps, did not want the film to be made.