In a recent interview, Sanjay Leela Bhansali opened up about his strained relationship with his father and revealed why he loves to show them via his films.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali recently made his OTT directorial debut with the web series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. The web series featured eminent names in the industry, including Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Taha Shah Badussha, and many others. Even after two weeks after its release, the web series has been getting immense love from the netizens.
Apart from the tawaifs playing an eminent role in the pre-Independence era, the character of 'Nawab Tajdar Baloch', played by Taha Shah Badusha, was also hugely loved by his fans. Apart from portraying the character of an advocate and Alamzeb's lover, 'Tajdar's strained relationship with his father, 'Ashfaq Baloch' played by Ujjwal Chopra, attracted many to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi. Now, in an interview with Pinkvilla, Sanjay revealed how just like every other filmmaker, he too loves to incorporate some of his real-life emotions and characters in his content. In Sanjay's words:
“Yeah, I feel that a lot of scenes that show every filmmaker has a certain life that he’s led and all the impressions of whatever he’s gone through or how he’s reacted or what he’s suffered or what he enjoyed or what he has loved, achieved and not achieved. Everything becomes a part of how you react, and therefore you choose a particular subject because it allows you to express those things that you’ve experienced in life.”
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In the same conversation, Sanjay revealed that he has chosen the life and whatever he is going through it. He mentioned that he is using his real-life experiences in his work to showcase to the world what he has gone through. He also thanked god for making him a filmmaker, and he was finally able to draw inspiration from his real-life scenarios and show them via his work. Hinting at his strained relationship with his father, Navin Bhansali, Sanjay said:
“I firmly believe you choose the life where you want to be born because you have to go through it to become somebody, so I have chosen the life where I have wanted to be born and then go through all that I had to through with my parents to finally realize that I’m using it all in my work in some way or the other. I’m expressing it so for me my work is cathartic it is purging myself of all that I have seen and gone through and thank god that I’m a filmmaker because I am able to express those various feelings and one of them is the father-son relationship or like all fathers sons relationships are always strained, they are also friendly, but there is always a difference of opinion and that is what makes characters.”
The filmmaker has been showing the father-son strained relationship in many of his projects like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Khamoshi, Devdas and now Heeramandi. However, he also mentioned that a ‘civil’ debate with ‘behavioral decency’ between parents and children is healthy and every relationship must have the same. He added that a child must have problems with parents and siblings because this is how the former's mind with evolve. Thus, having an opinion, thinking, and dreaming about doing something the parent disagrees with is good. He shared:
“I feel Heeramandi, we’ve tackled that issue very delicately from the son’s point of view and the father’s point of view except one scene when he finally gets him imprisoned and gets and pushes him away. Yeah, so these are important relationships which I enjoy shooting. I enjoyed the Tajdar and the father track.”
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For the unversed, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has broken the rules of carrying forward his father's name only. Instead, he added his mom, Leela Bhansali's name, as his middle name. Sharing the reason behind the same, the filmmaker once said that he did this as a token of gratitude to the woman who has done much for him. However, Sanjay also mentioned how it's not enough for any son or daughter to say thank you to their parents. Hence, he tried to make a small effort for his mother. Sanjay talked about his relationship with his father in an interview with Simi Garewal, but he called it 'incomplete'. For the uninitiated, Sanjay's father was an alcoholic and died of cirrhosis of liver.
What do you think about Sanjay's decision to show his strained relationship with his father on screen? Let us know!
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