sanjay leela bhansali’s doomed Inshallah had remained in news ever sinceit was announced. For starters, it was the homecoming of Super Star salman khan in the Bhansali domain. Even though any rational mind would shudder at the prospect of calling the supposed pairing of the 53-year old superstar opposite alia bhatt, younger to him by 27-years, a casting coup, it had set the cash registers ringing in the minds of trade pundits.
The film continues to make news even though what could have been a Legend Khan-Bhansali reunion, unfortunately,now stands shelved. Despite having worked together in two of their respective careers’ most memorable films, Bhansali and Salman remain highly unlikely collaborators. Bhansali’s debut Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), and later his breakthrough film, Hum Dil Chuke Sanam (1999) were the first few instances where the actor within Khan got a fair chance to show off without sacrificing the star quotient.
Even though Khan was the first A-list superstar who put his weight behind Bhansali, the filmmaker moved on to greener pastures following the success of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Khan went on to specialise in the kind of characters and cinema that was unique to him (read Bhansali would not be caught dead imagining), while Bhansali ended up becoming the biggest attraction of his productions (read: no place for ‘other’ stars), and the two paths never met. In this context, their attempt to reunite after a gap of nearly two decades for Inshallah was worth the splash it made.
The film continues to make news even though what could have been a Legend Khan-Bhansali reunion, unfortunately,now stands shelved. Despite having worked together in two of their respective careers’ most memorable films, Bhansali and Salman remain highly unlikely collaborators. Bhansali’s debut Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), and later his breakthrough film, Hum Dil Chuke Sanam (1999) were the first few instances where the actor within Khan got a fair chance to show off without sacrificing the star quotient.
Even though Khan was the first A-list superstar who put his weight behind Bhansali, the filmmaker moved on to greener pastures following the success of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Khan went on to specialise in the kind of characters and cinema that was unique to him (read Bhansali would not be caught dead imagining), while Bhansali ended up becoming the biggest attraction of his productions (read: no place for ‘other’ stars), and the two paths never met. In this context, their attempt to reunite after a gap of nearly two decades for Inshallah was worth the splash it made.
