Loved the irony of finding a hero in a villain’s name: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali is all set for the release of the latest film from his banner, Gabbar Is Back. In an interview with us, he discusses the film’s leading man Akshay Kumar and more.

I loved the concept of naam villain ka aur kaam hero ka. I know people won’t name their children Gabbar after watching this film. But I loved the irony of finding a true hero in the villain’s name.

Akshay doing Gabbar Is Back for us has got nothing to do with the success of Rowdy Rathod. We needed someone with a powerful and clean image. People look up to Akshay. We needed an actor who could be convincing while fighting corruption and whom the public would listen to.

I am saying that past success had nothing to do with us offering him this film. You can’t repeat a team just for the sake of repeating success.

It will happen. I can assure you of that. It’s just a matter of the right script at the right time. It’s also about our different approaches to our work. He does three films per year. I do one film every three years. But he’s a wonderful actor. I’d love to direct him.

No, no. We always wanted an untried director in Hindi. (Director) Krish has seen great success in Tamil and Telugu. But he is new to Hindi cinema. He brings in a certain freshness. We wanted a new director. A director who could bring a certain weight and substance to the screen while at the same time, making an entertaining film.

Yes, I saw his South Indian films. He is young and he has a deep connect with the audience.