Lara Dutta opens up about playing Indira Gandhi in BellBottom, how she landed the role

Lara Dutta plays the role of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film, BellBottom. Soon after the trailer was released on Tuesday, fans began wondering why they could not spot Lara Dutta in it.

However, at the trailer launch event, she revealed that she plays Indira Gandhi in the movie, which also features Vaani Kapoor and Huma Qureshi. After asking the media to guess her role, Lara even said, "If anyone is able to guess, then I will take all their family members free to the theatres.”

She then added, “Okay, so you did see me in the trailer. I'm playing Mrs Indira Gandhi in the film. That's me. All it took was a call and they said that Lara this film is being made and we are casting for Indira Gandhi's role. That is all it took, before I even heard the script. But yes, of course, there is a great responsibility when you're portraying somebody who is an iconic figure like her.”

"As you all know that the film deals with a hijack situation that happened during her tenure. Given the dramatic events that were unfolding, she was somebody who was extremely centred and not really prone to any dramatics. So it was important to portray her in that form. I had a great time. There was a lot of homework and research that went behind it. But it was an opportunity of a lifetime that I'm thankful for," she added.

At the trailer launch, Akshay Kumar also talked about leading the way for theatrical releases post the pandemic. “We have our fingers crossed, we still have 17-18 days to go (for the release). You never know what may happen.”

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Directed by Ranjit M Tewari, BellBottom is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani and Nikkhil Advani. The movie will be out in theatres on August 19.

Kangana Ranaut is also set to essay the role of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in a political drama that was supposed to be directed by Sai Kabir. In June, Kangana had announced that she will be directing the movie.