Sanjay Leela Bhansali on working with 'dear friend' Salman Khan: I wanted to but he has changed...I have changed'

Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have not worked together since 1999. In a recent interaction, the filmmaker talked about what's stopping the two from coming together.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is currently basking in the success of his recently released film Gangubai Kathiawadi, has now opened up about the prospects of working again with Salman Khan. Salman had starred opposite Manisha Koirala in Sanjay's 1996 film Khamoshi, and worked with the director again in the 1999 film Dil De Chuke Sanam, which also starred Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgn. They were all set to reunite after 21 years on Inshallah, in which Alia Bhatt had also been cast. However, the film was shelved just days before it was slated to go on floors.

A throwback picture of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Salman Khan from the time they worked together in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Sanjay has now said that he has left it up to Salman Khan to decide if they would be able to work together again. He stressed that he and Salman continue to be close friends, and he is hopeful for a chance to be working with the actor.

In a recent conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Sanjay said, "Salman is a very dear friend, and I wanted to work with him after Padmavat. I put my best feet forward to make it happen. For whatever reasons, it didn't turn out. We all change as people. So he has changed; in his mind, I have changed."

The filmmaker added that he is confident that even if he calls Salman today, they will talk exactly like before and pick where they left off, so it doesn't mean that they have stopped liking each other. However, as far as working together is concerned, the ball is in Salman's court now.

"I have utmost regard and respect for the person who did Khamoshi for me, who did Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam for me, and who stood by in Sawariyaa. So he has been a very very important part of who I am today and I will always respect him for it. The ball is in his court to decide if he wants to work with me, and if it's god willing inshallah agar hona hai to hoga (it'll happen if it's supposed to happen)."

In another part of the interview, Sanjay recalled that he and Alia were also heartbroken when Inshallah was shelved and they lost their chance to work together on the movie. He noted that later Gangubai happened, and he has been left impressed by how good an actor Alia has been.

Gangubai Kathiawadi, which also stars Ajay Devgn, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa, and Shantanu Maheshwari, released in theatres last Friday. The biographical crime drama film is loosely based on the true story of Gangubai Harjivandas, whose life was documented in the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai by S. Hussain Zaidi.