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Anees Bazmee says Laadla was almost completed with Divya Bharti; had to make revised script to convince Sridevi for the role
In a new interview, Anees Bazmee recalled how he made a 'revised script' for Laadla to convince Sridevi of the film after Divya Bharti's demise.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of an individual's death.
Divya Bharti's sudden demise in 1993 left fans and Industry insiders in shock. She was just 19 years old when the incident took place and was working on different movies, including Laadla. Recently, Anees Bazmee, who wrote the screenplay for the film, recalled that they had almost completed the film shoot but had to revise the script and reshoot it with Sridevi after Divya's death.
In a candid interview with Galatta India, Anees Bazmee shared different anecdotes from various films in his career, including Laadla. For those unaware, Divya Bharti was initially selected to play the lead role in the film and completed the shoot for most of it. However, her sudden demise left Laadla in uncertainty.
As a result, they approached Sridevi to play the role. Bazmee mentioned that Laadla was a remake of a South film. So, the Chandni actress had previously rejected it in Tamil and Telugu due to some issues. So, he had to make changes in the script to work on those issues to ensure she was convinced to play the role.
He said, "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."
The writer-filmmaker shared that Divya's sudden demise left the producer, Nitin Manmohan, in shock because most of the film was completed except its climax. However, he continued work despite his grief over the Deewana actress's demise and began shooting again.
Anees said, "He (the producer) 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 super hit."
Laadla starred Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. Raj Kanwar directed it, and it became one of the highest-grossing films in 1994.
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