Sanjay Leela Bhansali compares Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai with Nargis’ Mother India, Meena Kumar’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam

Pen Movies has released a new video that shows actress Alia Bhatt interviewing her movie Gangubai Kathiawadi’s director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In the interview, Alia asked about how nervous he was ahead of the movie’s release, how personal the project was for him, and more. Gangubai Kathiawadi released last month to positive reviews and, surprisingly, made significant money at the box office.

Alia asked Bhansali in the interview when he finally breathed a sigh of relief after the movie’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 film. “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.