Ever since Alia Bhatt confirmed that she will be starring opposite Salman Khan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming directorial Inshallah, the pair have received flak for appearing together on screen considering the wide age gap between them. While the roles that Alia and Salman will play in the film have not been confirmed, it bears noting that at age 53, Salman is 27 years her senior.
Alia seems unperturbed by the trolling. She told Pinkvilla that she considered speculation a sign of “excitement” on behalf of the audience and that they should “trust him [director Sanjay Leela Bhansali] with his vision”. She said,
“I didn’t get any criticism. I think I got a lot of excitement. I think speculation is also a form of excitement in a way and why shouldn’t there be speculation. There should be and at least I am not bothered by that and I don’t think Salman or Bhansali sir are bothered. I think this is a filmmaker who has given us very good films, he is someone who we all are very fond of and I think we should just trust him with his vision.”Alia Bhatt on being paired with Salman Khan in Inshallah.
In an earlier tweet, Alia had recalled the first time she met Sanjay Leela Bhansali when she was nine years old calling her role in Inshallah “a long wait”.
Alia Bhatt will be seen next in Kalank, which stars an ensemble cast of Varun Dhawan, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt and hits theatres on 17 April. She also features in fantasy film Brahmastra opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Salman Khan will be seen on screen with Katrina Kaif, Tabu and Disha Patani in Bharat which releases on 5 June.
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