Despite her faltering career, the always haughty, and now seemingly desperate, Rani Mukerji showed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali the door when he came to her with a cameo role in his upcoming film Chenab Gandhi. Photo Credit: IANS/FileSawf News Exclusive
Preity P
October 07, 2008, (Sawf News) - Despite her faltering career, the always haughty, and now seemingly desperate, Rani Mukerji showed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali the door when he came to her with a cameo role in his upcoming film Chenab Gandhi.
The talented but bratty bong did not literally steer Bhansali to the door but left him in no doubt where to turn and head toward, when she told him to forget the cameo role and give her Vidya Balan's lead role!
Sanjay, who directed Rani in her critically most acclaimed performance so far in Black, was completely taken aback by Rani's brashness. The two had last worked together in Saawariya (2007).
Chenab Gandhi is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali production to be directed by debutante director Vibhu Puri. It headlines Amitabh Bachchan, Harman Baweja and Vidya Balan.
Bhansali first tried to rope in Ranbir Kapoor and then Hrithik Roshan to play the lead role, but they both declined. Harman was finally roped in just days before his maiden film, Love Story 2050 released. So it hasn't been an auspicious start for Bhansali.
"For a small but a significant cameo part, Bhansali approached Rani," a source tells Sawf News. "But when she heard the complete script narration from him, she told him she would love to be a part of his film but on one condition - that she plays the lead part! (Bollywood is a big happy family, afterall!)
"Bhansali had already committed that part to Vidya Balan and there was no way he going to back out from that. Rani on the other hand was not interested in playing yet another Saawariya like cameo with a junior actress playing the lead, just to humor Bhansali.
"The way Bhansali sidelined her when promoting Saawariya still rankles with Rani."
Understandably, Bhansali was not amused by Rani's turndown and left the meeting without uttering another word.
Another industry source we spoke to had a somewhat different take on Rani's falling apart from Bhansali.
Rani, says the source, is desperate to team up with Shah Rukh Khan to make her comeback to Bollywood mainstream, and unfortunately Shah Rukh and Bhansali have been at loggerheads since the release date clash of Saawariya and Om Shanti Om in 2007.
"Bhansali could not accept the failure of his film and what enraged him further were King Khan's unwarranted critical comments on him and his film," says the source.
"Rani diplomatically handled Bhansali, knowing well that once she put her 'lead role' condition he would back off."
When we contacted Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions, on condition of anonymity one production official told us that Sushmita Sen is being considered for the part which was written keeping Rani in mind.
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