Sanjay Leela Bhansali reveals inspiration behind filmmaking, recalls childhood incident

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has revealed his inspiration behind filmmaking as he gears up for his foray into the digital world with Heera Mandi on streaming platform Netflix.

Bhansali, who celebrates 25 years in the Hindi film industry, said his childhood memory of watching a film shoot inspired him to become a filmmaker. In an interview at Netflix's fan event Tudum, he said that the studio was the most comfortable place in the world back in his childhood days.

"I remember when I was a 4-year-old kid and my father had taken me to a shoot, to watch - he’d gone to meet his friends, and he said you sit here I’ll just meet my friends and come and I was sitting in the studio I and thought that this is the place that seems most comfortable to me, more than a school, more than a playground, or more than a cousin’s house, or anywhere in the world, I thought this was the most beautiful place in the whole world"

Watch the video here:

Sanjay Leela Bhansali reveals inspiration behind filmmaking

From his first film in 1996, Khamoshi, to his last film, Padmaavat, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has given some spectacular visual extravaganza and picturesque musicals with his extraordinary storytelling. The filmmaker recalled a childhood moment and said:

"I was watching a cabaret being shot and they kept doing it again and again and again. But what actually I remember most of that evening is when my father told me, sit here and don’t move, and don’t go anywhere. Today when I look back at it and when I realize that 25 years I have been there, for that matter, the whole life after that I have been dreaming to be here and I’m glad I’m stuck here and doing what I have to do."

Sanjay Leela Bhansali shares fond childhood memories

The Bajirao Mastani director further reminisced his heartwarming memories of being in the theatre which used to screen films through projectors. He said, "As a child, he remembers going to a theater and watching those projectors used to have a beam of light that falls on the screen, across with my, my mind would never be there. My mind would be here and ghost particles float into it and say, okay, one day, my story will float."

The director looks forward to making more incredible stories as he fulfilled his childhood dream of making a global mark with his cinema. "All these things I have made. I think 9 films I have made & making the 10th one. It's been 25 years and 25 more to go," said the director.

Meanwhile, Bhansali has two promising projects in his kitty including the theatrical release of Gangubai Katiawadi, and Heeramandi. Based on the life of gangster Gangubai Kathiawadi, the film stars Alia Bhatt in the lead role. While Bhansali's first-ever series Heeramandi is based on the courtesans' pre-independence life.

(IMAGE:BHANSALIPRODUCTIONS/INSTA)