Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Gujarati: [ˈsəndʒeː ˈlilɑː ˈbʱəɳsɑliː]; born 24 February 1963) is an Indian filmmaker and music composer, who is known for his work in Hindi films.[1] He is the recipient of several awards, including seven National Film Awards and 12 Filmfare Awards (of which five were for Best Director), in addition to a nomination for a BAFTA Award.[2] In 2015, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award. Critically acclaimed for his use of aesthetics, musical vision and Period dramas, Bhansali is regarded as one of the best filmmakers of Indian cinema.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
24 February 1963
- Film director
- film producer
- screenwriter
- editor
- music composer
1988-present
Sharmin Segal (niece)
Padma Shri (2015)
Bhansali's directorial debut was the romantic musical Khamoshi: The Musical (1996). He gained both mainstream and critical success with the romantic dramas Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002), the latter of which was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.[2] He won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for directing the drama Black (2005). His subsequent releases Saawariya (2007) and Guzaarish (2010) were box-office flops. The latter film marked his debut as a music composer. He also began producing under his banner Bhansali Productions.[3]
Bhansali reinforced his status with the tragic romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013), and the top-grossing period dramas Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018). He won the National Film Award for Best Direction for Bajirao Mastani and the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for Padmaavat. He has since directed the biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), winning further National and Filmfare Awards. [4][5] In 2024, Bhansali launched his own music label, named Bhansali Music, as well as created and directed the period drama series Heeramandi.[6]
Early life[edit]
Sanjay Leela Bhansali was born on 24 February 1963 in Bhuleshwar, South Bombay into a Gujarati Jain family.[7][8] His mother, Leela, used to sew clothes to make ends meet.[9] He speaks Gujarati at home and loves Gujarati food, music, literature and architecture.[7][8]
His sister, Bela Bhansali Segal, has directed Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi (2012), for which he wrote the script, while Bela's daughter, Sharmin Segal, made her debut as an actress under his production Malaal (2019), for which he also served as fellow writer and composer.
Career[edit]
Early work and success (1989–2005)[edit]
Bhansali began his career as an assistant to Vidhu Vinod Chopra and was involved in the making of Parinda (1989) as an assistant director , 1942: A Love Story as a writer and assistant choreographer (1994) and Kareeb (1998). However, they had a falling-out when Bhansali refused to direct Kareeb. In 1996, he made his directorial debut with Khamoshi: The Musical, the commercially unsuccessful but critically acclaimed film about a daughter's struggle to communicate with her deaf-mute parents.[10] The film earned 5 Filmfare Awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics).
He rose to prominence in Indian cinema with the musical love triangle Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), starring Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan, and Ajay Devgn, which established his individualistic stamp for visual splendour and creating auras of celebration and festivity. The film was premiered in the Indian Panorama section at the 1999 International Film Festival of India. It was a critical and commercial success, and won numerous awards including 4 National Film Awards and 8 Filmfare Awards.[11]
His next film, the period romantic drama Devdas (2002), starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit, was Bhansali's ode to the novel of the same name, which became the highest-grossing film of the year.[12] The film also earned widespread critical acclaim and won 10 awards at Filmfare, emerging as the most-awarded film in Filmfare at the time (tying with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)). At the 50th National Film Awards, it won 5 awards including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. It received a nomination for the Best Foreign Film at the British Academy of Film & Television Awards (BAFTA).[13] It was India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was also screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.[14] It stood eighth in Time magazine's "The 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium (Thus Far)".[15]
His next film, Black, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, broke his own all-time record of Devdas by garnering 11 awards, the highest number of awards ever given to a single film at Filmfare. It stood fifth in Time (Europe)'s "10 Best Movies of the Year 2005" among films from across the world.[16] At the 53rd National Film Awards, he received his second National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Black earned him multiple Best Film and Best Director awards at Filmfare, the latter also received additional Best Film (Critics) award. In 2006, Bhansali participated as a judge on reality TV show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa alongside Farah Khan and Shilpa Shetty.[17]
Professional expansion (2007–2012)[edit]
Bhansali's next film, the musical romance Saawariya (2007) was met with mixed reviews and poor collections at the box office.[18] In 2008, Bhansali staged the opera Padmavati, an adaptation of the 1923 ballet written by Albert Roussel.[19][20] The show premiered in Paris at the prestigious Théâtre du Châtelet and next at the Festival dei Due Mondi, where it received "fifteen minutes of standing ovation and seven curtain calls at the end of the first show."[21][22] Bhansali received highly positive reviews from international critics for his work.[23] In 2010, Bhansali released Guzaarish, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, in which he also made his debut in music direction.[24] The film received positive reviews from critics, and was an above average performer at the box office. Guzaarish earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. In 2011, he became a judge on the Indian music talent show X Factor India Season 1.[17] The same year, he also produced the musical comedy My Friend Pinto, which received negative reviews and tanked at the box office. In 2012, Bhansali produced Rowdy Rathore, a remake of the Telugu film Vikramarkudu, starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha and directed by Prabhu Deva. The film received mixed reviews from critics and became a major commercial success, with Box Office India labelling it as a blockbuster.[25] The following year, he produced the romantic comedy Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, which also received positive reviews, but could not perform well at the box office.