I am extremely proud that our cinema is being recognised in the West. I want Indian cinema to get its dignity, not by giving them the kind of films they expect from us, but by making cinema in a way that carries the legacy of the mainstream masters forward.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

War Car West

To me, love means being free of your own bondage and connecting to another soul.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Love Age Your

It's pure joy to see some people who've never had the chance to live their dream, come on stage, and let loose.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Chance Age Who

It is absolutely important to balance stars with newcomers so the whole chemistry and ambience between people who have never worked before becomes far more explosive and exciting.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Work Worked Wit

I'm petrified of facing the camera. Even to shoot for a photograph is an ordeal. But it's important to break free of your inhibitions at some point in your life.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Pet Life Your

When I make a film about a physically challenged person, I come away with so much. I learn to value what I have. My survival instinct sharpened after 'Black' and 'Guzaarish.'

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Wit Way Value

I think suffering has always been an incentive for my creativity.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Ways Way Think

I've met quadriplegics who have lost the use of their limbs but not their spirit. They are not dark, defeated people.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Who Use Us

If I am aware of my own limitations, then I can work towards overcoming them.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Work War Towards

Though all festivals are important, this Cannes Festival starts off the season.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Art Though Thou

'Ramleela' is my most violent film.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Violent T Ram

I am distressed when I see news channels saying 'Devdas' has let down the country by not getting an Oscar nomination.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Car Yin UN

What's life without risks? When I made 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,' everybody said in India you can never have a husband say that I am uniting my wife with her lover. The male audience would reject it, and it is a male audience and hero-oriented industry.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Love Life You

The film industry functions on fraternal feelings. If there is a problem, we solve it in-house.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Use Us UN

My soul needs music all the time.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Time Music Us

Many people ask me why I chose to remake 'Devdas.' I wanted to make a film that celebrated grandeur and grace.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Why Wanted Want

I have been fascinated by Rani Padmavati from my childhood.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Ted T Ran

Friendship and loyalty shouldn't come in the way of casting.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Friendship Ya Way

My mother was my pillar of strength.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Strength T Pillar

Life is not only about dark nights; it's also about beautiful, sunshiny mornings.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Morning Life UN

Audiences want to see something interesting. It doesn't matter which genre or period it belongs to.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Which Want Tin

My mother is special to me. She understands me. She has no expectations from me.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

A man is not capable of giving the way a woman gives. She is stronger. When a woman sacrifices, it lends her grace and beauty.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I gave everything I had to give to 'Devdas.' I knew I would never make a better love story because there is none.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

My art completes my life.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I faced failure with my first film, 'Khamoshi.' All of us have our highs and lows, except Lata Mangeshkar.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

There was no fear of failure when I made 'Bajirao Mastani.'

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I need music while taking a bath. I need it in the car.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I am extremely proud that our cinema is being recognised in the West. I want Indian cinema to get its dignity, not by giving them the kind of films they expect from us, but by making cinema in a way that carries the legacy of the mainstream masters forward.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Some of the most beautiful people, to me, are those with the wrong geometry. Mother Teresa is extremely beautiful and not because she is a saint. Her characteristics are very strange, and that is what generates the power she had.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Bad behaviour on TV is quite nauseating and putting off.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I don't want to plan my career. That would be a business plan. Filmmaking is not a business plan.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I was criticised for making 'Devdas' so ostentatious. But stark and realistic cinema isn't the only real cinema in this country.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Did Robert De Niro actually look like Al Capone in 'The Untouchables?' Or did Van Kilmer look like Jim Morrison in 'The Doors?' No. It's the core, the essence of the personality that matters.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I think caring too much about the economics starts affecting the creative aspect of the film. That is a dangerous process for a filmmaker. He should make his film without having to worry about how much it has cost or how much it will be sold for.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

The media should be ready to cover every event at the Oberois' residence. If Vivek's dog has dysentery tomorrow, we should be prepared to hear Vivek talk about it on camera for three hours.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

There is dignity in being a celebrity. Let us not lose that dignity.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

The first film that I saw of Shammi Kapoor was 'Bhramachari.' I instantly fell in love with the film and connected with Shammiji. His style was natural and unique.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Once a film is selected at Cannes, the crossover becomes very easy, thanks to the prestige and dignity it gains at Cannes.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

It is very difficult for anyone to predict how a film will do. It depends on so many things: the mood of the audience, the state of their mind at the time, how they have reacted to the whole treatment.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

You can do a formula film and walk the conventional path, but it may not work at all.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

The multiplexes audience has one way of thinking. When they are all sitting together temperamentally, there is room for a filmmaker to reach out to a far larger audience in a comfortable way.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

The equality of men and women is not possible because both are different. A mountain is a mountain, and a river is a river.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Western music is alien to my ears.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I just wish one of the big American studios had bought 'Devdas.' They would have pitched the film for the Oscars in a big way, like Miramax did with the Chinese film 'Hero.'

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

I don't think international cinema is ready to embrace mainstream Indian cinema unconditionally. Even Mira Nair's 'Monsoon Wedding' didn't get to the Oscars after being nominated for the Golden Globe Awards.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Of course, an Oscar nomination would have added considerably to the film's business abroad. But it has already made nearly Rs 150 crore. It has done stupendous business overseas. We did a business of Rs 80 crore when we took 'Devdas' to Cannes.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

My 'Devdas' was a tribute to all the mainstream masters, from Mehboob Khan, K. Asif, and V. Shantaram to Raj Kapoor. I am not saying critics shouldn't have criticised my film. But they should have judged the film within the genre and format that I had chosen.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

'Devdas' isn't a real film. It isn't in the same genre as Mira Nair's 'Monsoon Wedding,' where the camera's presence is so understated it almost disappears.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

With 'Bajirao Mastani,' we have created history.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

'Devdas' is the first Hindi commercial film to be seen at Cannes. And 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' is getting a whole lot of appreciation abroad. I'm pleased.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali