Alia speaks like Gangubai in her real life : Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Mumbai, Feb 17 (UNI) Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali praised Alia’s performance in the upcoming film Gangubai Kathiawadi and said that she speaks more like Gangubai in her real life also. “I think she’s become more Gangubai than Alia in real life. Her boyfriend complains about her speaking like Gangubai at home. It’s just completely becoming one with the character”, he told the media. She is an amazing actor and was able to “just completely become one with the character”, he further said. Sanjay also talked about the shot which made him believe that she had become one with the character. “I didn’t know Alia was such a good dancer. When she danced in Dholida, I thought here was an actor who finally transcended. It’s a very gooseflesh moment for me to even talk about it and think about it – that you transcend where you are, you forget all space, you forget where you are, you forget who’s in front of you, cameras, what you look like, what you feel”, he appauded. “She just became one with that character and expressed all her angst and all that she had gone through in that one song. It’s a song that I will take to my grave. If there is any shot that I want to be played when I breathe my last – it would be Alia doing that shot because it is completely the best thing that I have seen an actor do in a very, very long time,” he added. The film was presented in 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on Wednesday. The film is set to hit the silver screen on 25th February and also stars Ajay Devgn, Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari and Seema Pahwa in pivotal roles. In the film Alia plays the role of a vulnerable girl who from a mere prostitute becomes a powerful madame and matriarch in Gangubai Kathiawadi. ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ is based on a chapter of S Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. It shows the journey of a young girl who is forced into prostitution later rising to the position of a brothel manager, who also ventured into politics and fought for the rights of sex workers.