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Alia Bhatt has been confirmed as the lead in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film _Gangubai Kathiawadi_. The film will be co-produced by Bhansali Productions and PEN India and is expected

to release on 11 September, 2020. > #Xclusiv: Sanjay Leela Bhansali announces his new film > #GangubaiKathiawadi... Stars Alia Bhatt in title role... Also, > release date finalized:

 11 Sept 2020... Bhansali Productions > collaborates with Jayantilal Gada's PEN India Ltd for this film. > — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 16, 2019 Alia announced the news

on social media calling it “special”. In his book _Mafia Queens of Mumbai_, investigative journalist and writer Hussain Zaidi describes Gangubai Kathiawadi as one of the top madams of

Mumbai’s red-light district Kamathipura. She had been sold into prostitution by her boyfriend and turned one of its biggest supporters. However, she harboured a soft corner for young women

forced into the trade. While the male lead in the film is yet to be confirmed, it was rumoured that Alia’s _Gully Boy _co-star Ranveer Singh was supposed to make a cameo but turned it down.

However, according to a source quoted by _Times of India_, there was never any question of Ranveer featuring in the film. Alia Bhatt was initially supposed to star opposite Salman Khan in

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s _Inshallah. _The film was scheduled to hit theatres on Eid 2020, but in August, the director confirmed that it had been shelved. While there has been no official word

on why the film was abandoned, it has been suggested that there were irreconcilable creative differences between Salman and Bhansali. Salman reportedly wanted the director to change the

second half, especially the end. Alia will also star opposite Ranbir Kapoor in _Brahmastra_, the first part of a fantasy trilogy that is being directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Karan

Johar’s Dharma Productions. It is expected to release on Christmas next year. Published: 16 Oct 2019, 4:43 PM IST