Sanjay Leela Bhansali is indeed directing Salman Khan. However the reports of the two getting together to do a costume drama are wrong. Laughs a close friend of Salman, “Sure, Bhansali is known by his costume dramas. But he has not directed Salman in even one costume drama. Khamoshi, Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam and Saawariya were not costume/period films. Their new film together is a contemporary love story.”
More than the casting itself, it is the reason behind the casting that seems interesting. If the truth be told, neither of the Khans Shah Rukh or Salman, is a force they once used to be. Shah Rukh has had a string of failures including his last two releases Jab Harry Met Sejal and Zero. Salman’s last film Race 3 underperformed miserably.
But then there is a school of thought that feels the Khans still have a long way to go, and Bhansali belongs to that school of thought. He has worked, and worked wonders, with both Shah Rukh and Salman in Devdas and Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam, respectively.
Sources say the script that Bhansali has in mind for Salman Khan was evolving for a long time. He would have made this particular subject only with Salman, or not at all. More importantly, after Ram Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat, Bhansali needs a break from the costume drama and the Ranveer–Deepika pairing?
Really, for how long can he rattle the sabre without the edge blunting? Bhansali has done all he could for now with the period genre and with the Ranveer – Deepika cast. It is time to move on. And what context and pretext to do so than SLB-Salman combination which, trade experts say can still shake the box office if given the right creative stir.
