Certain sections of the media recently reported that Ajay Devgn was offered the role of Allauddin Khilji in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati. A source close to Bhansali Productions dismisses this talk as “irrelevant PR”.
“Ajay was never offered Padmavati. The Khilji role was Ranveer Singh’s from the very start. Ajay had been offered Bajirao Mastani; he was the first choice for the role. And Bhansali sir was keen to team up with him again after Hum… Dil De Chuke Sanam. But things didn’t work out then,” the well-informed source reveals.
Apparently, Ajay quoted a price for Bajirao Mastani that sent Bhansali staggering back to his Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela hero Ranveer. Incidentally, the latter movie was offered to Ranbir Kapoor first. But for reasons best known to him, Ranbir vowed never to work with SLB after his debut Saawariya. Ranbir, instead, preferred to do Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet.
In fact, Ranveer was to do Bombay Velvet and was trying to work his dates out, when Ranbir showed an interest in the project.
