Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s magnum opus ‘Bajirao Mastani’ (2015) was a massive hit at the box office.
The epic historical romance starred Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in key roles.
In ‘Bajirao Mastani’, Ranveer played the character of Peshwa Bajirao, whereas Deepika and Priyanka essayed the roles of Mastani (Najirao’s 2nd wife) and Kashibai (Bajirao’s 1st wife) respectively.
While Ranveer’s performance in ‘Bajirao Mastani’ still remains one of the best performances of his career, did you guys know he was NOT the first choice for Peshwa’s role?
If this earlier report is to be believed, Ajay Devgn was first approached by SLB but he had to turn down the offer due to date issues and T&C.
Talking about it, the ‘Singham’ actor had told the daily, “I was approached for the lead role… but we couldn’t agree on the terms and conditions… dates, money everything.”
Reportedly, Ajay Devgn was expected to allot 200 consecutive days to film ‘Bajirao Mastani’. However, it wasn’t apparently possible as he was supposed to begin his own directorial ‘Shivaay’ the following year.
According to reports, SLB had allegedly claimed that Devgn was dropped because his character in ‘Singham’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’ shared the same name.
Reacting to this, Ajay had said, “What you are saying is something I am hearing for the first time. While Singham Returns has released now, Sanjay’s film will release in December next year so there’s a lot of time for people to forget about Bajirao Singham (laughs). What is wrong about admitting that we couldn’t agree on the T&C? (terms and conditions) Let’s be honest about that. Even I can make better excuses!“
For the unversed, Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Leela Bhansali had previously worked together in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ (1999). Ajay is playing a pivotal role in SLB’s upcoming directorial ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’.
