Anees Bazmee reveals Laadla was nearly complete with Divya Bharti; producer was ‘shaken’ after her death: ‘Had to reshoot it all with Sridevi’

Divya Bharti’s sudden death in 1993 after falling from her fifth-floor apartment left fans and the film industry in shock. The tragedy cast a shadow over Bollywood and left producers grappling with uncertainty, as several films had already been partially shot with Divya. One such film was Laadla, written by Anees Bazmee. In a recent interaction, Bazmee shared the story of how the team had to reshoot the entire film with Sridevi after Divya’s passing. He also recalled the effort involved in convincing Sridevi to take on the lead role, especially as she had previously rejected the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film.

Speaking to Galatta India, Anees recalled, “We had already shot a major portion of the film with Divya Bharti. After her passing, we had to reshoot the entire film with Sridevi. Laadla was a remake of a South film, and Sridevi had turned down the project in both Tamil and Telugu. Boney Kapoor warned me that she might refuse the film in Hindi too, but I insisted he arrange a meeting. Before meeting her, I reflected on the reasons behind her rejection of the first two versions and made some adjustments accordingly. When I narrated my revised version of the story to her, she got excited.”

Anees also shared how Divya’s passing left the producer, Nitin Manmohan, deeply shaken. “When someone close to you passes away, there’s grief, but there’s also worry about the project and the financial loss it might incur. I was concerned for Nitin Manmohan, the producer of Laadla. He was quite shaken because only the film’s climax was left; the entire film had already been shot with her. But he showed courage, despite his grief. He picked himself up, and we began shooting again. The second time, the film was shot very quickly because we had already made it once. It went on to be a superhit.”

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Anees is currently enjoying the success of his latest film, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, starring Kartik Aaryan. The film has grossed Rs 148.50 crore within its first six days of release.