Why Katrina Kaif is a misfit to play the lead in Bajirao Mastani? - Page 2

"If you're awake to the poignant beauty of the world, your heart breaks regularly..." -Andrew Harvey

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has befriended loneliness. In fact, he has hit harmony with the troubled chords of his heart. That sadness, he insists, helps him create. In the shades of his protagonists, in the intensity of their conflict, he finds his own resonance, his catharsis... and even his sunshine. That perhaps explains why even though his films have the melancholy of Guru Dutt, they never fail to exult the human spirit. His female protagonists may have the mystical beauty of Kamal Amrohi's characters but they also manifest the strength of Bimal Roy's. That's why, on a white canvas, SLB plays around with a riotous rainbow of love, longing, losing... yet life-asserting. But with Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela, he's broken free of inhibitions. Passionate and primal... the film has brought vindication to the director slammed for his ostentatious odes in the recent past. "The dhols are drumming, my blood is rushing!" says Bhansali caught in a celebratory mood...


How important is the success of Ram-leela to validate your worth as a filmmaker?

I've never doubted myself as a filmmaker. Just the other day I received a message from a girl saying that Saawariya was like a beautiful painting. It didn't connect with people, fine. There must be something wrong then. But I'll always believe in its cinematic brilliance. I didn't want Ram-leela to succeed just to prove that I still have it in me. I'll have it in me till I die. I've never been afraid of failures. My first film Khamoshi got great reviews but did poorly. And it wasn't as if the success of Devdas made me feel invincible. Everything is transitory. You've to keep reinventing yourself.

What made you opt for violent love in Ram-leela?

We're all capable of aggression. But we don't express it due to social pressure. While Devdas had controlled violence, in Ram-leela I've expressed it flamboyantly. My protagonists, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, fall in love violently. Also, here folk theatre merges with Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet. If the sur (tune) of every film is the same, I'll not grow. Every artiste should tap the navras (nine emotions) - anger, jealousy, love...

You've explored a dark side...

Dark was Black, despite it being a positive film. Dark was Khamoshi where the parents are jealous of their daughter. Their stance is you can't fall in love because then who'll look after us, who'll speak for us, who'll hear for us!' Those were dark subjects albeit dealt with sunshine. The fight of Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan) in Guzaarish wishing to celebrate life and death is tapping my dark side. Aggression is not dark, it may be uncomfortable. In Ram-leela, the protagonists fall in love, face opposition, which results in violence.

Unlike your previous films, Ram-leela is sexually uninhibited too...

(Laughs) Earlier I never allowed my characters to be physically demonstrative. They'd always be left alone, pining... But kissing is a natural expression of love. I've explored sensuality not sexuality. Deepika's and Ranveer's kiss is about love, not lust, it's organic. Their bodies coming together as in a dance is poetry in motion.

Was it a challenge to have Deepika Padukone as your muse, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being your longstanding one?

I went to meet Deepika Padukone after the existing leading lady (Kareena Kapoor) left my film at a time when the set was already constructed. Deepika was unwell and had fever. She was wearing a white salwar kameez, her hair tied up. Her eyes were watery and she appeared beautiful. What also caught my attention was her surahi like long neck and meethi awaaz. Many felt that she wouldn't be able to do justice to the role. But I realised here was an evolved actor. She's intelligent and speaks little, saving all the energy for the shot. When she walked onto the set, she looked every inch my heroine. That was the same feeling I got when Ash or even Madhuri Dixit walked in. When you view Ash on camera you're hypnotised. Deepika's beauty is earthy and confident.

Was it difficult reining a hyper' Ranveer Singh?

(Laughs) If Red Bull was a person, it would be Ranveer Singh. You can come laughing and jumping on my set and can continue jumping till the evening, I don't care. What I want is work. And that boy, though over-energised, is at the same time talented and focused. He got his character of Ram bhai, a village Romeo, bang on! He worked hard on his body. He gave good suggestions, never behuda (irrelevant) ones. I'd pamper him but after a point I'd say enough is enough, go and give the shot!' But I never had to tell him to concentrate.

do you find it hard to deal with criticism?

Criticism is as much part of a filmmaker's destiny as is praise. When criticism's genuine, it's welcome. Not when it's biased. You don't know filmmaking but you write, I think this film is this and that'. But who are you? A film released on Friday should not be reviewed till Monday. If you're going to take away the work of 200 people, who worked for two years and spent crores over it, just because you did not connect with it, it's not right. There are loaded subtexts in my work, a lot of layers of my life that I've unfolded. Sadly, we only inquire about the collection.