Abhinav Shukla opens up on how he lost an opportunity to star in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film

Abhinav did not know that Inshallah was a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film when he went for the audition.

Abhinav Shukla is one of the A lister actors on television. While he has fared pretty well in his career, having been a part of Bigg Boss 14 and recently appearing in Pati Patni Aur Panga, the actor got candid about missing an opportunity to star in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali project. The project was titled Inshallah, which starred Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt, but the film got shelved.

Abhinav did not know that Inshallah was a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film when he went for the audition. When requested to meet the director, he admitted that he was really frightened.

Recalling his first meeting with Bhansali, Abhinav, in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, said, “When I went there, there was another actor too. I figured that it would be either him or me who would be cast. This was a pivotal role.”

He mentioned, “I was scared because all those who have worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali have expressed that he is very strict. I was worried I might say or do something wrong.”

Abhinav mentioned that Sanjay Leela Bhansali appreciated him and, in fact, asked him where he had been all this while. He stated, “He praised everyone for half an hour. He was very specific about what he was saying. I was blown out. I felt like I was going to be spoken ill about. He is like the most wonderful guy.”

Abhinav spoke about the time he got a call about being finalized for the film. He was in Dubai back then. Shedding light on how his wife, Rubina Dilaik, responded, he told the publication, "Ruby said, 'Baby, it was my dream to work in Bhansali Sahab's film.' I then said, ‘Okay, okay, at least now you will go to the set.”

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Abhinav also expressed that everything was going smoothly until one day he called the EP, who told him that they will let him know about the film’s shoot. Later, he read in the news that the film had been shelved.

Abhinav Shukla, who is now starring in Pati, Patni Aur Panga, described the Heeramandi filmmaker as a perfectionist and said he is one of his favorites. The actor seems optimistic that he could be given the opportunity the next time Bhansali casts him in a role.