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Sanjay Leela Bhansali gets Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi on board for Alia Bhatt

9 Jun 2020

The shooting schedule of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis much awaited period drama, Gangubai starring Alia Bhatt in lead was halted in March due to a nationwide lockdown in midst of coronavirus pandemic. While the set is still standing at Filmcity in Mumbai, the makers are still waiting for the approval of guidelines by the government and get all safety regulations in place. Bollywood Hungama has exclusively learnt that SLB has got Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi on board to play pivotal roles in Gangubai. The duo last worked together in the cult classic, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai and their dynamic is spoken about by the audience even today, 10 years after its release.While Emraan has already shot for his portions silently earlier this year with Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn is expected to join Alia and co. once the shooting resumes post lockdown. Ajay plays the character of a gangster, Karim Lala, while not much is known about Emraans role. Both their characters have their own swag, style and SLB felt that the two actors fit the bill perfectly, revealed a source close to the development. Both the characters are extended cameos but pivotal to the narrative of the film. Gangubais journey is incomplete without the people around her, and the ones portrayed by Ajay and Emraan played a role in shaping up her personality in the Mumbai underworld, the source added.After Sanjay Leela Bhansalis reunion with Salman Khan, Inshallah, was shelved, the filmmaker announced Gangubai with Alia Bhatt. Its a dream project for Bhansali and he has been working on the script on and off for years now. After wrapping up Gangubai, the filmmaker moves on to another period musical, Baiju Bawra and as reported by Bollywood Hungama earlier, he is in talks with Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone to play the lead. Ajay too was in talks for the film for another role. However, there has been no progress on that front at the moment as Ajays calendar is filled with multiple releases.