Sanjay Leela Bhansali completed 25 years in the Indian film industry this week, with nine magnum opuses including ‘Black’, ‘Saawariya’, ‘Padmaavat’, ‘Ram Leela’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ and ‘Devdas’ to his name.
The filmmaker, known for his eye for detail, thematic style of direction and powerful storylines, completes quarter of a century in Bollywood as he works on his tenth film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’.
To mark the milestone, Bhansali Productions posted a showreel to cover the iconic spectacles, dialogues and artistes across every one of the nine movies that he has created so far.
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Bhansali said: “It has not always been an easy journey but I've thoroughly enjoyed myself regardless – I've won some and learnt some. But these 25 years would not be complete without the incredible effort of every single person I've worked with so far. The movie that an audience watches on their screens is a creative culmination of so many different forms of art – from the soundtrack, colours, screenplay, architecture, dialogues to every thread on every costume.
“It's the fantabulous team of technicians, artistes, writers, producers and assistant directors that have been the real pillar behind every movie made. That's why I like the call my films 'handmade movies'. The years ahead are blank pages waiting to be written and I am itching to write them.”
In his 25 years, Bhansali is seen as having put India on the global map of cinema with movies like Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Devdas’ premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002. The movie was also nominated for British Academy of Film and Television Awards for Best Film Not in the English Language. His Big B and Rani Mukherji starrer, ‘Black’, inspired by the life of Helen Keller, stood fifth in ‘Time’ magazine’s "10 Best Movies of the Year 2005" (Europe).
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He is known for his artistic sets and thematic backdrops and his signature style is of highly choreographed sequences and larger-than-life mega-musicals.
In 2015, Sanjay Leela Bhansali was honoured with the Padma Shri by the President of India. He has a legacy of 38 awards to his name including National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards, Mirchi Music Awards, Screen Awards, IIFA Awards, Zee Cine Awards and Zee Gold Awards.
