When Sanjay Leela Bhansali defended Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s fashion choices; ‘If she wears something, she is representing the country’

From ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ to ‘Devdas’ and ‘Guzaarish’, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has remained closely connected with Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s filmmaking journey.Sanjay Leela Bhansali has previously spoken about the intense scrutiny Aishwarya Rai Bachchan faced over her appearances at international events. The filmmaker defended the actress when she was criticised for her fashion choices at Cannes and movie premieres.During an appearance on ‘Koffee with Karan’, Karan Johar asked Sanjay Leela Bhansali how he reacted to reports describing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as “badly dressed” at Cannes or premieres.Sanjay Leela Bhansali made it clear that he did not agree with such criticism. He also highlighted the larger significance of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s international appearances.“No i dont like it. Personally i feel that Aishwarya has been subjected to a lot of trolls when she understands . If she wears something, she is representing the country, she is doing so many things that go beyond Oh look at what she is wearing and what she is not.”

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s association with Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have collaborated on three Hindi movies. Their first project together was ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, which released in 1999.The actress and filmmaker reunited for ‘Devdas’ in 2002. The movie went on to become one of the most recognised works of both Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.Their third collaboration came with ‘Guzaarish’ in 2010. The movie featured Aishwarya Rai Bachchan alongside Hrithik Roshan.Across these projects, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s elaborate visual style was paired with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s performances. Their professional association has remained an important chapter in the actress’s Hindi film career.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Mastani

Another revelation from Sanjay Leela Bhansali concerned his ambitious period movie ‘Bajirao Mastani‘. The filmmaker had initially imagined Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Mastani.His original vision also involved Salman Khan as Bajirao. However, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was not comfortable working with the team Sanjay Leela Bhansali had planned for the project.Speaking about the situation, Sanjay Leela Bhansali said, “I was very hurt by the fact that Aishwarya was not being Mastani. For me, she is a central part of my work. So is my friendship with Salman. I was in a dilemma, I wanted to stand by her too.”

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan explained why she declined

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan later spoke about the circumstances surrounding the proposed collaboration. She acknowledged that Sanjay Leela Bhansali had wanted to bring her and Salman Khan together for the movie.She explained that the circumstances made the collaboration impossible in the form originally envisioned by the filmmaker.Aishwarya Rai Bachchan said, “We had talked about this, and he had been wonderful. Yes, it was his vision and saw us working together, but circumstantially I could not work with the kind of team he was looking at, and he was fine. I was game to play Mastani but not with the Bajirao he had in his mind.”The situation reportedly caused some tension between the filmmaker and actress. However, their friendship continued despite the disagreement.

‘Bajirao Mastani’ eventually starred Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone

Sanjay Leela Bhansali eventually revived ‘Bajirao Mastani’ years later with a different cast. Ranveer Singh played Bajirao, while Deepika Padukone portrayed Mastani.The 2015 movie also featured Priyanka Chopra as Kashibai. It went on to become one of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s most prominent historical dramas.SJB’s next most awaited film is ‘Love & War’.