MUMBAI: Alia Bhatt won over everyone's admiration with her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi. A National Award was also given to the actress for her outstanding performance. But as you may know, she wasn't the first choice.

(Also  read: Must read! Meet the on-screen parents of Gangubai Kathiawadi whose scenes were chopped off)

Yes, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had offered the part to another Bollywood actress before Alia Bhatt. The director's first pick for an actress was none other than Rani Mukerji.

There had been earlier rumors that Priyanka Chopra had received the role before Alia Bhatt. Nevertheless, a popular news portal story claims that an insider informed the entertainment website that Bhansali had Rani Mukerji in mind for the part even before Priyanka, and said, “Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film ‘Gangubai’ was initially to be made with Rani Mukerji in the lead. However, things didn’t work out with Rani and that’s when he decided to ask Priyanka Chopra while filming ‘Bajirao Mastani’. The project couldn’t take off as PeeCee was running on a tight schedule while also pursuing a career in Hollywood.”

The source further added, “When ‘Inshalla’ got shelved, Bhansali already had a film ready to take on floors. With Alia’s dates booked, he decided to greenlight ‘Gangubai’ which was in the making for a very long time. SLB is also known to revisit his films again and again. ‘Ram Leela’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’ were both on the shelve for the longest time before they finally began rolling after Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone came on board.”

Both the public and reviewers applauded Alia Bhatt's performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi, and the movie went on to win her the National Award for Best Actress. Under the direction of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the movie brought in a staggering Rs 211 crore globally, making it one of the year's highest-grossing productions. A biographical drama about the life of the well-known matriarch and brothel owner is presented in the movie Gangubai Kathiawadi.

Alia Bhatt's next film appearance will be in Jigra, which also allegedly stars Vedang Raina. The movie, which is helmed by Vasan Bala and has a September 27 release date in theaters, is co-produced by Alia and Karan Johar.

(Also read: Must Read! Here is what Alia Bhatt said on winning National Award for Gangubai Kathiawadi )

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Credit- DNA