Finally, after years of development hurdles, the official biopic of legendary Bollywood icon Madhubala is in the making under Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In an honest conversation with journalist Vickey Lalwani, Madhubala’s sister, Madhur Brij Bhushan, opened up about the direct-to-streaming project, sharing her honest thoughts on the lead actress, past contractual legalities, and the long road to production.
Speaking on the rising star Sara Arjun being locked to play Madhubala in a biopic by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Madhubala’s sister Madhur shared her point of view, calling Sara Arjun good and talented. But he also highlighted, “Sara is going to play Madhubala, but nowhere does she look like my sister at all.”
However, she expressed immense faith in the film’s producer, noting that Sanjay Leela Bhansali can get the best out of actors, so he will bring out the best in Sara as Madhubala.
Reflecting on the film’s notoriously delayed history, Bhushan revealed that the biopic was originally signed with acclaimed director Imtiaz Ali and Reliance Entertainment. She said she signed on for her sister’s biopic with Imtiaz Ali, but the other sisters objected, saying Madhubala’s biopic wouldn’t be made.
Explaining why the movie can finally be made today, Bhushan shared the reality of the passage of time: one of her objecting sisters has since passed away, another is battling severe memory loss, and a third is critically ill, leaving no family members left to legally block the production.
Sharing how it is being made now, Madhubala’s sister revealed that one of the sisters has died, one has memory loss, and the other is extremely ill, so there is no one to object.
When asked about Sony Pictures withdrawing Madhubala’s biopic, her sister said the project’s hands-on producers, Prashant Singh and Shaurya Neel, told her Sony was no longer interested in moving forward, so she doesn’t know the exact reason.
Helmed by Darlings director Jasmeet K. Reen, the highly anticipated biographical drama is slated to be a major direct-to-OTT release.
