I get bored very quickly: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

The director doesn’t like talking about his work — he wants his work to talk instead. That is why the maverick filmmaker isn’t too fond of doing interviews. It took a lot to persuade him to do this one and when he came around eventually, he made it worth it...

Those who have worked with him have always spoken of how demanding and challenging an experience it can be. But they have also said that Sanjay Leela Bhansali gives his actors the freedom to do what they want and yet gets what he wants out of them. Sanjay Leela Bhansali continues to remain an enigma to many. What goes on in his mind, what will be his next step — it’s tough to second-guess the man. He’s however very clear about his approach. “You have to give your actors space, tell them what is the subtext and what are the stress points. The camera is there. As for the rest, let the actor perform. And if you don’t like what he/she is doing, have a discussion and lead them to where you need them to be. I am good at that. I know exactly what I want. But you need to lead actors through it, so they don’t lose their sense of freedom,” he says.

Patience is perhaps one of his strongest virtues; Bhansali will wait as long as it takes to get what he wants. “I tell them, take as much time as you want. But I pay a lot of attention to the minute details. There’s always much more that you can do for that shot, or in life in general. And precision and perfection are key to excellence.” It can get tiring, he admits. But he’ll only pursue it for as long as the spontaneity remains. “If it goes on for too long, I change the whole scene. They (actors) also get scared that now he will change everything, so let’s do this and do this now,” he says with a smile, adding. “I get bored very quickly. By the tenth take, I may have to change some line or some other aspect to get my actors excited about that shot again. So that’s one drawback that I have,” he says.

Content is something Bhansali will never compromise on, he says. He loves getting into the nitty-gritty. “I take a lot of time to construct a scene because I choreograph it — how the costumes will be, what the set will look like, the dialogues — everything I look into. And most importantly, how the scene fits the narrative, if at all.” His films are known to celebrate the tragic hero. Why the fascination for tragedy, we ask. “My endings are mostly incomplete, and most of my protagonists never get the love they want. But they continue to love and that’s what’s important. The dignity one finds in loving another person is crucial to me. Had Devdas got Paro, I wouldn’t have made the film. Love should make you beautiful. It cannot make you manipulative or bitter. I like the characters that make you blossom in love. I think it has something to do with my past and maybe a tragic ending in my love story. So this will not go out, this will remain.”

The buzz around Bajirao Mastani has been largely positive, except perhaps for the backlash he faced from the members of the Peshwa family, who were not pleased with his depiction of historical characters in the film. “I think the Peshwa family is reacting unnecessarily to something they haven’t seen. It’s just an interpretation of this great warrior, celebrating his life, his spirit. Depiction of the Maratha history on such a large scale has never happened in a Hindi film. They should not be upset. Instead, they should be happy that we are making an effort to tell the story of Bajirao to the whole world, because his story needs to be told. He’s one of the greatest warriors our country has seen,” Bhansali says.

A lot has also been said about the clash of the titans at the box office, with his film locking horns with the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer, Dilwale. SLB confesses that ideally, he would have preferred to avoid the clash. “But Eros wanted to stick to this date. And Shah Rukh also wanted to arrive on the same date. It was between SRK and Eros; I didn’t get into it at all. Having said that, I must add that it’s a good time for all films to do well. Yes, had their film not been around, we would have had a better opening and vice versa. But now that there will be a clash, one must not get bitter or angry about it. So far there is no bad blood from any camp. So far so good,” he says.

One would imagine the director to be aching for a break considering how grueling the past year has been. But Bhansali seems to belong to a different school of thought. He gets back to work Monday onwards, just two days after the release of Bajirao. “From Monday, I start my search for a new subject for my next project. I feel it’s very important to keep working. There is a time when your mind works; energies connect with the universal energies. This is an abstract thought, you might not believe but I do I feel I am connecting to higher energies that are teaching me what I want to receive right now and give as much as I can to my work,” Bhansali says. So no break then, we ask again to confirm. “No, no! Why This work is holiday for me. I am fascinated by the process of cinema. What constantly stimulates me and keeps me alive is my need to tell a story. Those few things about my past, I haven’t been able to find any characters that would be able to translate those experiences of my life. I am still in search all the time.”