Was Inshallah shelved as Salman Khan wanted Waluscha De Sousa in the film? She says ‘utter rubbish’

Waluscha De Sousa claims she was part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah but refutes rumours that Salman Khan recommended her over Alia Bhatt or that she was the reason why the film was shelved.

The announcement that Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Salman Khan’s Inshallah, also starring Alia Bhatt in the lead, has been shelved has given birth to so many conspiracy theories. Speculations have been rife around the reason for cancelling the film. A few reports even claimed that the film was shelved as Salman recommended Daisy Shah and Waluscha De Sousa’s names for the film and Bhansali put his foot down. Waluscha has now dismissed the rumours, pointing out that she was already a part of the film.

Waluscha DeSousa was supposed to play an important role in Inshallah that had Salman Khan in the lead role.

Speaking with ETimes in an interview, Waluscha said, “Let me get this right. No one can recommend anyone for a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. You have to earn it! You get cast for a Bhansali film, you don’t need to be pushed for it by anyone. So these reports of Salman suggesting my name to Sanjay are utter rubbish!”

Earlier this week, Salman announced that Inshallah has been postponed but he will have an Eid date with fans, suggesting another of his film may release on the date. However, just hours later, the actor and Bhansali Productions confirmed that the film will not be made due to Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s creative differences. Salman, however, insisted they will continue to be friends.

Waluscha, who made her Bollywood debut with Shah Rukh Khan in his 2016 film Fan, has cleared the air. “Yes(confirming she was part of Inshallah) . In fact, I had even given my dates for the film and my shoot was to begin in the second week of September. It is flattering and embarrassing at the same time to suggest that Inshallah didn’t happen because of me. I met Sanjay through Ashley (Rebello) who is also Salman’s stylist and designer,” she said.

She admitted that she has signed up for Salman’s talent management company but added, “Like I said, I have signed up for Salman’s talent management agency but you cannot recommend anyone to Sanjay. If you know him then you will be aware of how involved and passionate he is about his casting. He picks each and every actor after putting a lot of thought into it. Even if anyone would have recommended me to him, he eventually made a decision based on his own understanding. So to imply that anyone was forcefully pushed into this project is mere hogwash!”

A source from Bhansali Productions had also responded to rumours of Waluscha being the reason for the film to be shelved: “This is a completely fake story. There is no truth to it. Salman didn’t ask any such additions to the cast.”

Asked to comment on the reason why the film was shelved, Waluscha said, “I don’t know, there are several versions of what happened and I don’t want to pay any heed to them. The fact of the matter is that ‘Inshallah’ isn’t happening anymore and it makes me feel sad because it is such a beautiful story. I can’t speak for anyone else but yes I was signed on to play an important character in it.”

Follow @htshowbiz for more