If it wasn’t for Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjay Dutt’s ‘Bhoomi’ wouldn’t have happened

News has it that Aditi Rao Hydari came to Sanjay Dutt and ‘Bhoomi’ team’s rescue after she gave her nod to play Dutt’s daughter in the film.

According to reports, director Omung Kumar had approached a lot of actresses to play Dutt’s daughter in the film, including Kriti Sanon, Sayyeshaa Saigal and Shraddha Kapoor, but no one agreed. It was Aditi who came on board at the last moment and the shooting could start on time in Agra. Reportedly, Alia Bhatt was Omung’s first choice but he was aware of the fact that the young actress was too busy and shooting was to start from February 1, this year, so she wasn’t approached. (Also Read: ‘Bhoomi’ shoots in UP cancelled after crowd barges in)

“Sayyeshaa, Shraddha and Kriti were all given narrations, but all backed out after keeping Omung waiting,” reveals a source.

Co-producer Sandeep Singh says, “Sayyeshaa was busy with her South commitments. Kriti liked the script, but was busy with ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’ and ‘Raabta’. We approached Dangal girl Sanya Malhotra, too, but she didn’t want to play a daughter’s role again. With a month left to begin shooting, we approached Aditi. We have been friends for five years now. She had come over after shooting for ‘Padmavati’ and Omung and I met her at 1 am at night for the narration. She said yes immediately and requested time to work out her dates. She’s a very natural actress. With her, there are no tantrums or fussiness. We shot on the streets of Agra for days without a vanity van and Aditi hasn’t complained one bit. Whatever happens is for the best. Aditi bailed us out and today, she’s so good in and as ‘Bhoomi’, a simple, working-class girl from Agra.”

‘Bhoomi’ will be Sanju Baba’s comeback film.