Sanjay Leela Bhansali is celebrating the success of his latest web series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. He is known to bring out the best in the actors who work with him and give them memorable career performances. However, the Black filmmaker once asked actress, Ameesha Patel to retire after gaining massive success in the first two films of her career. The Gadar 2 actress once shared the incident in an interview with Bollywood Hungama.
During the promotional interviews for her film, Gadar 2, Ameesha shared an interesting incident involving Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She revealed that the filmmaker sent her a special letter after watching her performance in Gadar:Ek Prem Katha and asked her to retire. He believed that she received massive success with her first two films and that many other actresses don't get that in their lifetime career. In her words:
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“Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, after watching Gadar, wrote a really beautiful letter, a complimentary letter to me. And when I had a meeting with him, he said, ‘Ameesha, you should retire now.’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because you’ve already achieved in two films what most people don’t achieve in their entire career. Once in a lifetime, a Mughal-e-Azam, a Mother India, a Pakeezah, a Sholay gets made. You had it in your second film. So what’s next?’ I didn’t understand it at that time because I was a kid, so new to the film world”
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For the unversed, Ameesha Patel made her Bollywood debut with Hrithik Roshan in the film, Kaho Na Pyaar Hai. The film was a massive commercial success. Next, she worked in Gadar:Ek Prem Katha with Sunny Deol, which was a blockbuster and received a good amount of love and success. It made a total collection of 1.33 billion dollars worldwide.
Ameesha Patel didn't get to work with many big filmmakers in Bollywood. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan last year, she revealed that there was a phase in her career when big production houses and filmmakers wanted to work with her. However, she missed the opportunities because they were not comfortable coordinating with her manager. Recalling the incident, she shared:
“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.”
Ameesha Patel witnessed a downfall in her career in 2003 when her films didn't perform well at the box office. However, she had a few hits, such as Priyadarshan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa. But her role often went unnoticed. In one of her statements, Ameesha said she was targeted after her films didn’t perform at the box office. She believed that if she had a godfather in the industry, her films not performing at the box office would not have mattered.
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After the stellar debut, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was a game changer in Ameesha Patel's career. The actress feels that the film harmed her career as well. In an interview with the IANS, she shared that Gadar: Ek Prem Katha had established her as a performer. People who doubted her talent learned that the college girl could play a Mother on-screen, too. However, the benchmark of success was so high that her other films paled against it, which had a negative impact.
What do you think about Sanjay Leela Bhansali's advice to Ameesha Patel?
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