I always wanted to be a part of Marathi films: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Be it Khamoshi (1996), Devdas (2002), Black (2005) or Guzaarish (2010), filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s work has never gone unnoticed.

Be it Khamoshi (1996), Devdas (2002), Black (2005) or Guzaarish (2010), filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s work has never gone unnoticed. While many director-producers of his calibre tend to underplay their achievements when it comes to winning awards, Bhansali is honest when he says these are important to him. The 52-year-old was recently conferred with two prestigious honours — the Padma Shri, and the National Award for his production, a biopic on boxer Mary Kom. He says it’s a good phase for him.

Shah-Rukh-Khan-with-Sanjay-Leela-Bhansali-at-a-party-Bhansali-hosted-to-celebrate-his-winning-the-Padma-Shree-award-Yogen-Shah-HT-Photo

You have been on an award spree. After the Padma Shri, you also received a National Award. How does it feel?

It feels good to get awards. When a film like Mary Kom wins a National Award, you feel happy that your year was spent well, and you feel satisfied that you have told a good story. Now is a good phase for me. We are releasing an Akshay Kumar-starrer, we are working with the likes of Ranveer (Singh), Deepika (Padukone) and Priyanka (Chopra) in Bajirao Mastani. So, I am happy in life.

Does winning an award encourage a producer to make more films?

Winning an award does make me happy, but that is not why I produce films. I produce movies because I like them. It could be anything from an offbeat film to a commercial one. If the script appeals to me, I will produce it. Some get appreciated, some don’t. But if two films don’t work, that doesn’t mean I will stop producing films.

I always wanted to be part of Marathi films. I have finalised a script, and we are working on it. As a child, I used to watch a lot of Marathi films. Their audience is very receptive to good cinema; they don’t just want commercial stuff. Once the revenues come in, more people will come forth to make these films. I have been a big fan of this cinema, be it films made by V Shantaram, Dada Kondke or Kashinath Ghanekar.