Bhansali’s initial film choice
“Before ‘Love & War’: The Initial Film That Was to Bring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt Together with Sanjay Leela Bhansali”
Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are poised to reunite on screen for the second time after “Brahmastra.” The duo will feature in director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film, “Love & War,” alongside Vicky Kaushal.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first collaboration Bhansali had planned with Alia and Ranbir. In a previous interview, Alia disclosed that she had auditioned for Bhansali’s earlier project, “Balika Vadhu,” which was intended to star Ranbir as well. At the age of 11, Alia had taken part in a screen test with Ranbir, who was then 20 and working as an assistant director on Bhansali’s film “Black.” Although the details about why the project was abandoned remain unclear, Alia mentioned that Bhansali had framed a picture from the screen test and gifted it to her.
The announcement of “Love & War” featuring Ranbir and Alia suggests that Bhansali was determined to cast them together in a film. The realization of this 19-year-old dream is set to come true when the movie hits the big screen next Christmas.
While Alia never shared the Balika Vadhu screen test picture with her fans, dedicated followers stumbled upon it years ago when she released a video on her YouTube channel discussing her 30 days of promotions for “Gangubai Kathiawadi.” In a scene from the video, keen-eyed fans noticed the framed Balika Vadhu screen test photo displayed on a shelf at Alia’s home. The black and white image features Ranbir in the foreground with 11-year-old Alia resting her head on his shoulder.
It’s worth noting that both Alia and Ranbir have previously collaborated separately with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in “Gangubai Kathiawadi” and “Saawariya,” respectively.
