A lot has changed, career-wise, for actor Shantanu Maheshwari after the release of his latest film, Gangubai Kathiawadi. He is glad that more offers have started pouring in and that he’s now in a space to take a call on whether he wants to do a project or not.

“Initially, people in the industry didn’t really know me. They hadn’t seen my work and didn’t know whether I’ll be able to hold the screen. Once they saw it (the film), they started reaching out, wanting to make me a part of their projects,” says the 31-year-old, who played actor Alia Bhatt’s lover in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial.

Before Gangubai Kathiawadi happened to him, the actor tried his hand at movies, but things didn’t materialise. “Every actor wants to get into films after a point, but [like many others] even I was struggling. I was given offers, but somehow they wouldn’t convert. I would get rejected or replaced at the last minute,” says Maheshwari.

But the actor is content and not complaining any longer. “I am glad those projects didn’t happen, because then Gangubai wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have got a chance to work with Sanjay sir,” says Maheshwari, who is currently busy absorbing his new-found fame. “I didn’t expect it to be this big in terms of exposure,” he ends.