Ameesha Patel says she lost Sanjay Leela Bhansali, SRK films due to her manager | Bollywood

Ameesha Patel has now said that many A-list filmmakers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Yash Chopra wanted to work with her but she lost out on those projects due to her manager. Ameesha was speaking with Siddharth Kannan in a new interview when she recalled how Sanjay once told her about being ‘scared of her’ due to her manager. (Also read: Films that made Sanjay Leela Bhansali a seven-time National Award winner)

Praising Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his personality, Ameesha said, “There were talks for a very good project. But I don’t want to mention its name, because the film has already been made. Unfortunately, my manager at that time and Mr Bhansali were not getting along. After I parted ways, amicably, with the manager, Bhansali sir told me that there were moments when we were supposed to work together but he did not want to deal with my manager. Even Yash Raj Films, Sajid Nadiadwala, and others told me later, ‘we were too scared to approach you’ because of the manager who used to be a barrier’. So, I missed out on numerous promising projects, directors, and producers due to mismanagement rather than proper management. But that’s destiny.”

She also said that there were films, including Shah Rukh Khan’s Chalte Chalte, which were offered to her, but she never got to know about the offer. Ameesha added that director Aziz Mirza and Shah Rukh Khan invited her to the dubbing studio during the dubbing of the film and that was when she came to know that she had apparently rejected Chalte Chalte. She added that the hierarchy of secretaries and managers that existed in that era is no longer prevalent, and filmmakers can now directly approach their actors.

During the interview, she also said that she has done many films in her career, “for reasons other than career”, and added that she does not wish that upon anyone who wants to work in the film industry.

Gadar 2 marked Ameesha Patel’s comeback to the screens after a break of five long years. The film has now crossed ₹500-crore-mark at the Indian ticket windows. Directed by Anil Sharma, the film features Utkarsh Sharma and Sunny Deol in lead roles.