Shantanu Maheshwari On Keeping His Debut With Gangubai Kathiawadi A Secret: It Became Difficult To Hide It

On one side, Alia Bhatt is being praised for her brilliant performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi while on the other side, her co-star Shantanu Maheshwari who made his Bollywood debut with the film, has also been receiving praise for his fiery chemistry and convincing work. The actor is on cloud nine and why not? It does not happen with everybody that they click with the audience with their first film itself. However, people have only positive things to say about him after seeing him romancing Alia in the film.

While speaking to Hindustan Times, Shantanu shared that it was not an easy task for him to say zip-lipped about his debut for good three years. But he managed to keep the secret.

He said, "Not disclosing things for three years is not a joke. COVID-19 stalled the release and it became difficult for me to hide it. At one point, I wanted to announce to the world, 'I am going to be a part of it'. But it had it's own perks, in terms of not announcing to the world - it came as a shock to people."

The actor further revealed that he didn't even tell his family what his role was all about. "They were a bit curious and wanted to know everything. I said 'go watch the film and find out' When they saw me, they were really happy and proud, and couldn't keep it in," said Maheshwari.

In the same interview, he spoke about Sanjay Leela Bhansali and shared that he appreciated his work. Shantanu said that Bhansali is not someone who appreciates casually. The maverick director knows what he is talking about, as he is a work oriented person.

"When he did it, it was very special. After him, it was my best friend, she appreciated me. Then I was like I must have done a decent job, because she is very strict," said the actor.