To me, love means being free of your own bondage and connecting to another soul.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
It's pure joy to see some people who've never had the chance to live their dream, come on stage, and let loose.
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.
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.
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.'
I think suffering has always been an incentive for my creativity.
I've met quadriplegics who have lost the use of their limbs but not their spirit. They are not dark, defeated people.
If I am aware of my own limitations, then I can work towards overcoming them.
Though all festivals are important, this Cannes Festival starts off the season.
'Ramleela' is my most violent film.
I am distressed when I see news channels saying 'Devdas' has let down the country by not getting an Oscar nomination.
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.
The film industry functions on fraternal feelings. If there is a problem, we solve it in-house.
My soul needs music all the time.
Many people ask me why I chose to remake 'Devdas.' I wanted to make a film that celebrated grandeur and grace.
I have been fascinated by Rani Padmavati from my childhood.
Friendship and loyalty shouldn't come in the way of casting.
My mother was my pillar of strength.
Life is not only about dark nights; it's also about beautiful, sunshiny mornings.
Audiences want to see something interesting. It doesn't matter which genre or period it belongs to.
My mother is special to me. She understands me. She has no expectations from me.
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.
I gave everything I had to give to 'Devdas.' I knew I would never make a better love story because there is none.
My art completes my life.
I faced failure with my first film, 'Khamoshi.' All of us have our highs and lows, except Lata Mangeshkar.
There was no fear of failure when I made 'Bajirao Mastani.'
I need music while taking a bath. I need it in the car.
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.
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.
Bad behaviour on TV is quite nauseating and putting off.
I don't want to plan my career. That would be a business plan. Filmmaking is not a business plan.
I was criticised for making 'Devdas' so ostentatious. But stark and realistic cinema isn't the only real cinema in this country.
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.
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.
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.
There is dignity in being a celebrity. Let us not lose that dignity.
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.
Once a film is selected at Cannes, the crossover becomes very easy, thanks to the prestige and dignity it gains at Cannes.
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.
You can do a formula film and walk the conventional path, but it may not work at all.
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.
The equality of men and women is not possible because both are different. A mountain is a mountain, and a river is a river.
Western music is alien to my ears.
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.'
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.
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.
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.
'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.
With 'Bajirao Mastani,' we have created history.
'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.
