Gangubai Kathiawadi: Shantanu Maheshwari talks about his life before and after appearing in Alia Bhatt-led film

Shantanu Maheshwari is a well renowned talent as a dancer, having been on various TV shows and representing India in international contests. While the enormously famous Channel V show Dil Dosti Dance launched his acting career, Shantanu made the major leap into Bollywood with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's latest film Gangubai Kathiawadi, in which he plays Alia Bhatt's love interest.

Shantanu Maheshwari's life has changed since the release of Gangubai Kathiawadi. Several opportunities have begun to arrive, but the actor is not in a rush.

In a conversation with Hindustan Times, the actor recalled how the industry knew very little about him as they hadn’t seen his work or any film and they believed that he would not be able to hold the screen. "Of course, once people saw it (Gangubai Kathiawadi), they started coming out to me, asking me to be a part of other projects," the actor added.

Before Gangubai happened to him, the actor stated that he had made several attempts to obtain movies but was unsuccessful. The actor was receiving offers, but he said he was either having difficulty to convince the director or was being replaced at the last minute after being chosen for the part. The actor has had his share of struggles but finally got a big break with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai, and now he is relieved that the other projects did not materialise as otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to work on the gangster film.

Maheshwari simply wants to concentrate on grasping his newfound celebrity status, since everything is new to him. He is loving this role, but he did not anticipate it to be this large in terms of publicity and all the love that he is getting today.

Meanwhile, Gangubai Kathiawadi also features Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari, Seema Pahwa and Ajay Devgn. The film is expected to release on Netflix this month.