Anees Bazmee says Laadla was almost completed with Divya Bharti; had to make revised script to convince Sridevi for the role

by

As a devoted fan who has witnessed the ebb and flow of Bollywood’s dynamic landscape over the years, I must say that the story of Laadla and Divya Bharti’s untimely demise remains a poignant chapter in the annals of Indian cinema. The tale of resilience, adaptation, and sheer grit shown by Anees Bazmee, Sridevi, Anil Kapoor, Nitin Manmohan, and Raj Kanwar is nothing short of inspiring.

1993 saw an unexpected passing of Divya Bharti, leaving her fans and industry colleagues in disbelief. At the tender age of 19, she was midway through various film projects, one of them being “Laadla.” More recently, Anees Bazmee, who penned the screenplay for this movie, reminisced that they were almost done with the shoot, but had to revise the script and reshoot it featuring Sridevi following Divya’s tragic death.

In a straightforward conversation with Galatta India, Anees Bazmee reminisced about various tales from his movie career, such as Laadla. It’s worth noting that Divya Bharti was initially chosen to star in the film and finished shooting for the majority of it. Tragically, her unexpected passing left Laadla hanging in the balance.

In my fervor, I found myself standing before the legendary Sridevi, heart pounding with anticipation. Bazmee had shared that Laadla was a reimagining of a beloved Southern film. I knew this, for the Chandni actress had turned down the offer in Tamil and Telugu before, owing to certain complications. Thus, he had to meticulously revise the script, addressing those issues, to win her trust and secure her as the leading lady.

He told me that Boney Kapoor had suggested she might turn down the Hindi film as well, but I persisted in arranging a meeting with her. Prior to our encounter, I considered the factors causing her rejection of the initial two scripts and made necessary changes. Upon sharing my revised storyline with her, she showed great enthusiasm.

The writer-director disclosed that the unexpected passing of Divya had left producer Nitin Manmohan stunned, as nearly all the movie had been made except for its final scene. Nevertheless, he persevered with his work, overwhelmed by the loss of the actress from Deewana, and resumed shooting once more.

Anees stated, “The producer dusted himself off, and we resumed filming again. Since we’d done it before, this time around, the movie was filmed swiftly. In the end, it turned out to be an enormous success.

In the main parts, the movie featured Sridevi and Anil Kapoor. It was skillfully directed by Raj Kanwar and ended up being one of the top-earning films in 1994.

Read More

2024-11-08 17:07