(UTV | INDIA) – Shantanu Maheshwari says “Alia doesn’t carry the aura of a star. She is very cooperative and a team player.”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directorial Gangubai Kathiawadi has grabbed all the attention not only for the storyline but also for its incredible cast. The film stars Alia Bhatt in the lead. Gangubai Kathiawadi tells the story of a brothel madam who works to bring reforms to the lives of sex workers. The movie also features Shantanu Maheshwari in a key role. Recently, in an interview, Shantanu opened up about his debut film and even spoke about his experience of working with Alia Bhatt.
Shantanu said that from the very beginning he knew it was a female-oriented and an Alia Bhatt film. However, he also knew that he had an important part in the movie and thus he had complete belief in himself. When asked how did he break the ice with Alia Bhatt, Shantanu said that it was quite a simple meeting at the office, where Alia came in and they both exchanged greetings. “It wasn’t like when she entered, everyone stood up in attention (laughs). Also, she knew about me playing the part and it was all very organic for us. We actually never had to break the ice,” he said.
The actor also opened up about romancing Alia in the film and said that they both were very clear in terms of their characters and their chemistry came out naturally. In fact, they never had to put in extra effort, do workshops or rehearsals. He added, “Also, Alia doesn’t carry the aura of a star. She is very cooperative and a team player. We both knew the script and surrendered to that. It all became easy after that.”