Sanjay Leela Bhansali addresses reputation as being ‘difficult to work with’, says, ‘I won’t let actors go to their vans until…’

The filmmaker, whose last film was Gangubai Kathiawadi with Alia Bhatt, further said, “But the fact is that it’s everybody’s mind. It is that moment that you wait for, and it comes after a lot of hard work and focus, commitment and conviction. They call me a task master because I won’t let them go to their vans until I find that moment. That moment is very precious to all of us and it doesn’t come through me, it comes because of everyone.”

 

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Several actors in the past have shared their experience of working with Bhansali. Actor Ranbir Kapoor, who worked with the director in Saawariya and prior to that assisted him on the film Black, had revealed how he was beaten up and abused at by the filmmaker, to a point that he had to quit the project. In a 2016 podcast with Neha Dhupia, Ranbir had said, “He (Bhansali) was a hard task-master and I was kneeling down on set, he was beating me… after a point it got so heavy and I felt so tortured that I had to quit the film at a point… I think it was like 10 or 11 months into my job and I am like, ‘Listen I can’t do this, it’s getting to me.’ I think I am too sensitive and emotional and he got to know me so well and he kind of kept poking into that… He got too much, went crazy as far as I was concerned.”

In an earlier interview with Filmfare.com, actor Ranveer Singh, who has worked with Bhansali in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela, Padmavat and Bajirao Mastani, said that the filmmaker does have a temper, but only because he wants to get the best out of his actors. Ranveer was quoted as saying, “He’s the director, he’s not only feeling what you’re feeling, but he’s also dealing with a dozen other things. He does have a temper. But from what I hear it’s not as bad as it used to be. That’s because he’s so passionate about his craft. His endeavour is to achieve magic every day. Frankly, he’s never been angry with me. We gel well with each other. The kind of reactions that come naturally to me is the type of performance he wants in Ram Leela.”

During the launch of her film Padmaavat, Deepika Padukone had also shared her experience of working with Bhansali, and said, “With Sanjay Leela Bhansali, you don’t count the number of takes, you just go with the flow. You have to switch off from things like your heavy headgear, costume or how uncomfortable the dupatta is on your head. When the camera is on, it is all about what I am doing and the energy. After the shoot, you realise (there are) injuries,” Deepika told reporters at the trailer launch of the film.

Heeramandi stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Shaikh and Richa Chadha and is set in the pre-Independence era.