Ranbir complains about Alia speaking like Gangubai at home: Bhansali

Alia Bhatt and Sanjay Leela Bhansali were proud to present their film, Gangubai Kathiawadi at the Berlin International Film Festival on Wednesday.

Talking to the media after the screening, Sanjay revealed how Alia became one with her titular character, much to the amusement of her boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor.

Alia plays the role of a vulnerable girl turned brothel owner and matriarch in Gangubai Kathiawadi. Talking about her performance in the film, Sanjay said at a press conference, “I think she’s become more Gangubai than Alia in real life. Her boyfriend complains about her speak like Gangubai at home. It’s just completely becoming one with the character.”

Sanjay also talked about the shot which made him believe that she had become one with the character. Calling Alia’s trance moment in Gangubai Kathiawadi song Dholida the best he had ever seen, the filmmaker said, “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.”

“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.

When Alia was asked to say a few words after the film screening, Alia greeted the audience in her Gangubai style. “Bhashan, vashan dene ki aadat nahi hai mujhe,” she said before thanking the audience for watching the film.

Gangubai Kathiawadi is set to hit theatres on February 25. It is based on a chapter of S. Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The film also stars Ajay Devgn, Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari and Seema Pahwa in pivotal roles.