Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 winner and a noted dancer, Shantanu Maheshwari who surprised everyone with his nuanced and stellar performance as Afsaan in Gangubai Kathiawadi, helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, says working with such a fine filmmaker is an achievement. 
 
Shantanu Maheshwari was interacting with NewsHelpline to celebrate the world-wide success of Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in the lead roles. 
 
Talking about bagging the role and working with such a stellar filmmaker, Shantanu said, “Everyone wants to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, as he is one of the finest filmmakers in the industry, and I got the chance to work with him in my debut movie, I think it is a big achievement for me” 
 
“Like everyone else, I auditioned for the role, the makers were very clear that they needed to fresh face for the role, they want to launch someone, and my first thought was, perhaps it is dance related role, otherwise why would they approach me, and I was surprisingly shocked to find out that it was acting based role, it has nothing to do with dance” added Shantanu. 
 
After many delays, Gangubai Kathiawadi premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, followed by Indian theatrical release. 
 
Talking about consistent delays of the film and pandemic, Shantanu said, “While working on the film, I knew the movie had potential to bring audience back in theaters, but with cinema halls running on low capacity, corona alert and constant delays in the movie release, plus people had started to enjoy OTT releases more than going out, so I was scared for the movie release, but I am happy that the movie did good upon release, I think word of mouth publicity has helped the film tremendously” 
 
Adding about his future projects, Shantanu said, “I’d love to be part of good work, not just any work, and be able to sustain myself with good work, I mean, people appreciated my work in Gangubai Kathiawadi, and I would love the same kind of appreciation with future projects”