Shantanu Maheshwari: Gangubai happened when I had almost given up hope for films

The audience loved actor-dancer Shantanu Maheshwari’s performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s award-winning film Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Alia Bhatt. As the biographical crime drama continues to garner appreciation, the actor opens up about how the film came to him at a time when he had almost given up hope to ever be a part of the big screen.  

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Most recently seen in Netflix’s romantic thriller fantasy series Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, Shantanu feels that compared with all the other visual mediums, “films are a bit hard to crack”. Before venturing into movies, Shantanu was a known face in reality shows on television. He made his debut in 2011 with Dil Dosti Dance, and then appeared in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, Nach Baliye 9 and Khatron Ke Khiladi. 

Speaking with PTI recently, the 32-year-old actor said, “I have explored all the mediums. Films are a bit hard to crack. There are a lot of things involved. Since the money is huge, the expectation is also big. I don’t think any of the heroes or heroines that we have today are the result of one or two movies. They were backed by directors or producers. They kept coming back, no matter how good or bad the movie or the project was.”

Opening up about bagging a role opposite Alia in Gangubai, Shantanu said he feels blessed that the acclaimed biopic allowed him to connect with a larger audience. “I had given up that movies will ever be something that I will be able to do. I tried other mediums, but when there is no one to guide, you try and hope that something might click and you get a chance. It has been a great journey post Gangubai. I didn’t expect the movie to have this kind of mass appeal that could make me a household name. I am thankful to Sanjay sir. It is good to keep doing something or the other. You have to be in the flow and continuously working in this industry. That is happening for me now,” he elaborated. Gangubai also featured Ajay Devgn, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa and Jim Sarbh. 

Cut to Pratim Dasgupta’s Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, Shantanu shares screen space with Tanya Maniktala, Tillotama Shome, Sikandar Kher, Revathi and Adil Hussain. Next, he will be seen in writer-director Neeraj Pandey’s romantic musical drama Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha!, starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Jimmy Shergill.

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