Sanjay Leela Bhansali to demolish Gangubai Kathiawadi sets to save its rent during lockdown?

Speculations are rife that filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has decided to demolish the sets of Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi to prevent incurring expenses on rent during lockdown.

Alia Bhatt’s upcoming film Gangubai Kathiawadi is among the many big budget projects which have suffered amid lockdown. As all film shoots and releases stand cancelled for an unknown period, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has reportedly ordered the demolition of the film sets.

Alia Bhatt in Gangubai Kathiawadi’s poster.

It is said the rent for the structure was higher than the cost of its construction which led Bhansali to take the call of demolishing it. A report in Mid-Day has quoted a source as saying, “In March, Bhansali had cleared the payment for the set maintenance. Even when the shutdown was announced, the team had assumed it would delay the schedule only by a month or so. However, with the situation in Mumbai looking grim, it is unlikely that the shoots will resume soon. After a round of number-crunching, it was seen that recreating the set would probably be a cheaper alternative than keeping it standing in these uncertain circumstances, as the latter entails the daily rent that has to be paid to Film City. So, the team has decided to have the set razed to the ground.”

The production house is yet to confirm the news and message to them remains unanswered until the story was published.

Alia had unveiled two posters of the film in January this year and featured in two powerful looks. While one showed her sitting in a skirt and blouse alongside a stool with a gun placed on it, another was a black and white picture of her close up with a big red bindi adorning her forehead. Bhansali Productions had also unveiled her look with the caption, “Strength. Power. Fear! One look, a thousand emotions. Presenting the first look of #GangubaiKathiawadi.”

The film was originally scheduled to release on September 11 this year. It is based on Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai and revolves around Gangubai Kothewali, a brothel owner and matriarch.

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