Heer Express trailer launch: Gulshan Grover's UNIQUE record: "I acted in debut films of Rani Mukerji, Bipasha Basu, Kangana Ranaut, Katrina Kaif"; lauds Sanjay Leela Bhansali, "Women in Gangubai Kathiawadi's time were voluptuous, bigger and yet Alia Bhatt was cast…" : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama

Published 2 days ago• 3 minute read

Ashutosh Rana, Gulshan Grover, Sanjay Mishra, Pritt Kamani and debutant Divita Juneja along with director Umesh Shukla attended the launch of the trailer of their upcoming film Heer Express in Mumbai. Gulshan Grover rocked the show with his observations and trivia.

Heer Express trailer launch: Gulshan Grover’s UNIQUE record: “I acted in debut films of Rani Mukerji, Bipasha Basu, Kangana Ranaut, Katrina Kaif”; lauds Sanjay Leela Bhansali, “Women in Gangubai Kathiawadi’s time were voluptuous, bigger and yet Alia Bhatt was cast…”

Gulshan Grover began by saying, “I was a part of Rani Mukerji’s first film. I was a part of Bipasha Basu’s first film. I was a part of Kangana Ranaut’s first film. I was a part of Katrina Kaif’s first film. There must be some more heroines. All four are different from one another in terms of their persona and acting. And then they shone and how. All four give me a lot of love and respect me even today. Rani continues to call me ‘Daar ji’. That was the sardar character I played (in Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat; 1998).”

He added, “At IIFA, I attended the dinner in Shah Rukh Khan’s room. Karan Johar, Rani Mukerji and a few more people were there. I didn’t spot Rani. From the corner of the room, I heard ‘Dar ji’! I am narrating these heartening experiences because I worked with Divita for the first time in this film. The same kind of feeling I got with her (which I got while working with other aforementioned newcomers). Maybe, the generation of today is more polished, confident and aware. Some of the names I mentioned were slightly raw yet confident. But Divita was super-confident.”

He continued, “The choice of Divita as Heer shows how the thinking of filmmaking has evolved. When Khoobsurat (1980) was made, Rekha ji was cast for the lead role. But in Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), Sanjay Leela Bhansali cast Alia Bhatt. The film was set in a period when women were voluptuous, taller and bigger. But he chose a younger girl of today.”

Gulshan Grover repeatedly praised his son Sanjay Grover, “My son, who is a producer and also writer of the film, consulted other makers and director Umesh Shukla and concluded that as per them, this girl (Divita Juneja) is perfect for the role. She is not the Heer which we saw in our films at one point like Neetu Singh. This is a forward-thinking approach by the makers to cast her.”

Heer Express releases in cinemas on August 8.