Salman Khan ‘walked away from the set’ after ‘showdown’ with Sanjay Leela Bhansali: Production designer reveals why Inshallah was cancelled

Production designer Rupin Suchak revealed details of why Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's musical drama Inshallah was cancelled, despite the shoot having commenced with Alia Bhatt.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | February 10, 2023 12:23 PM IST

3 min read

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had previously shared that he and Salman Khan are on good terms. (Photo: Bhansali Productions/Instagram)

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Actor Salman Khan’s hotly anticipated reunion with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the musical drama Inshallah, was abandoned because of a ‘showdown’ that led to Salman ‘walking off’ the set, the film’s production designer Rupin Suchak has revealed in a new interview. Inshallah was supposed to star Salman and Alia Bhatt, but the film’s was shelved in 2019, after shooting had already commenced.

In an interview with News18, Rupin Suchak, who also works as a celebrity interior designer, described Inshallah as a ‘modern film’ with a ‘modern approach’. He said, “Fortunately or unfortunately, the film didn’t make it to floors because of a showdown that happened, and Salman walked away from the sets. Salman and Bhansali didn’t want to do the film together. I spent a year pre-planning the set with Bhansali. We were in the USA for about three months scouting the location.”

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Suchak said that he designed 24 sets for the film over the span of nine months. “We started building three sets, out of which we had completed one. The following day, we shot with Alia. The second set was almost complete and the shoot was supposed to happen three days after the complete shoot was called off. We were supposed to finish the film a year later. But I leave it to my fate. I left the project with a happy memory because I learnt so much from it.”

In a 2019 interview with Mumbai Mirror, Salman spoke about why the film was cancelled, and said that Bhansali isn’t the sort of director who ‘won’t do gaddaari with his film’. Salman added, “I want him to make the film he wants to make. Nothing changes between us as friends and I’m sure nothing has changed in Sanjay’s heart for me.”

In a 2022 interview with Bollywood Hungama, Bhansali called Salman a ‘very dear friend’ and shared that he wanted to work with him after Padmaavat and had put his best foot forward to make it happen. He said, “We all change as people. So he has changed, in his mind I have changed… It’s not like we are strangers or we do not like each other or we do not speak to each other.”

Producer Jayantilal Gada had also spoken about what happened. He told Bollywood Hungama in 2022, “Yes, we had started work on that film. However, I believe Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Salman Khan had some creative differences. I don’t know exactly as we don’t get into such matters. So, that got shelved and Gangubai Kathiawadi went on floors.”

Gangubai Kathiawadi became one of Bollywood’s earliest box office successes in the post-pandemic era, and established Alia as a bonafide commercial star. The film was also acclaimed, and made over Rs 200 crore globally. Salman will next be seen in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, and then in the third Tiger film.

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