Saawariya is my Biggest Hit: Sanjay Leela

by Subhash K Jha

Three days after his latest film's release Sanjay Leela Bhansali is somewhat pained by the backlash against Saawariya.

While critics abroad have spoken of the film in the most complimentary tones, out here it's a different story altogether. Reacting sharply to the criticism SLB gets candidly introspective in this tete-a-tete.

The collections worldwide for Saawariya seem to be at loggerheads with some of the reviews at home.
You tell me when where and how these negative stories about Saawariya come from. It collected an estimated Rs 50-57 crores in India over its opening weekend. This is biggest opening for an Indian film with newcomers in the lead.

Are audiences having a tough time accepting Saawariya because you've built another kind of expectation through your earlier films?
The huge barrage of criticism hasn't prevented people from appreciating my merger of raga-based melodies with a Broadway-styled play.As far as I'm concerned, people love Saawariya.

Only a handful of critics are trying to influence the audience to go against the film. They didn't succeed with Devdas. They won't succeed in conditioning the audiences mind.

The final verdict comes from the unbiased viewer. And the audience is far more intelligent than me or the learned critics. My effort to merge art with commerce cannot go to waste.

If today Bimal Roy made Sujata or Do Bigha Zameen he'd be slammed by critics. They'd destroy him. Where are films like Bandini and Jagte Raho today? Once in a blue moon we get a film like 36 Chowringhee Lane.

LA Weekly has compared your film to Giacomo Puccini's opera La Boheme. While critics abroad including the influential A.O. Scott of New York Times and have heaped lavish praise on Saawariya the critics at home have been rather unwelcoming?
Indian critics should take a look at the opinions abroad to know what unbiased criticism is all about. I suppose they have their own reasons for whatever they're doing.

Saawariya is an absolutely new experiment within the commercial format. That's the USP of the film. It has generated a debate through a new storyelling language in commercial cinema.

Mediocre minds with their personal axes to grind, would like to kill this endeavour to take mainstream cinema forward.

Saawariya generates a totally new kind of cinematic experience.
According to me every one who has worked in Saawariya has raised the bar for the movie experience in this country.

If we don't do something new, our cinema will become a stagnant pool of gags and jokes masquerading as a masala entertainer. Telling jokes is not my definition of filmmaking.

In every film of mine I want to create a new world. Saawariya is set in an imaginary world. And I'm glad I had the courage to tell the story exactly the way I wanted and yet reached out to the audience.

A lot of people have commented on the imaginary world that you've created.
I'm glad they noticed it. It's a fairytale world that existed in my mind. I chose to tell the story of my romantic world through the eyes of a prostitute.

Why should we only locate our films in places that already exist? There're so many genres of cinema. Why can't I make a film that exists in a state of the abstract and unattainable?

You sound extremely sure of your intentions and goal as a filmmaker.
We shouldn't be afraid to experiment with form and content. Hindi cinema is today opening up to international audience. We filmmakers in India should fearlessly create what we believe in regardless of what the 'trade' thinks. I repeat, Hindi cinema shouldn't be reduced to a series of gags and jokes.

And I don't care what 'the trade' thinks. I'll continue in the tradition that Bimal Roy and Gulzar taught us. They did such a variety of work,and so fearlessly. V Shantaram could do a neo-realistic Padosi alongside a song-and-dance film like Navrang.

Would you say filmmakers today are trying to persuade us into believing that cinema is about masti and laughter?
Not all, only some filmmakers who are trying to take cinema back to the 1970s and 80s and some critics who have made the crappiest films are sitting judgement over filmmakers who dare to dream. They've an agenda behind their opinion.

They must remember one thing. Good art can never be stifled. Gag the voice of the poet. But his poems will live forever. They tried to write off Madan Mohan by saying his soundtracks didn't succeed. Today he's the most revered music composer.

Commercial success has never been a problem for you.
Saawariya has got the biggest opening ever in the history of Indian cinema with two newcomers in the lead. And it opened with a film featuring the biggest star of the country. Yes, some people find Saawariya a little slow in pace. But most people love what I've done.

Media manipulation won't kill my film. I'm open to healthy criticism and debate. But not prejudiced criticism. In the opening weekend we've had massive audiences all over the world connecting with the film.

Ranbir has been unanimously hailed as the next superstar.
And I'm very proud of him. When people say they love him they are actually expressing appreciation for the character. He takes us from Frame 1 to The End.

Ranbir has become a superstar because of that twinge he creates in the audiences' hearts with his selfless love. It's like Rajesh Khanna's death in Anand…or that sad ending in Ek Duuje Ke Liye. When a debutant becomes a superstar in one day it's a victory for the film.

His warmth has enveloped the audience. He's such a fabulous performer. He took all my instructions and put them effortlessly on screen. Ranbir is the brightest star since Raj Kapoor. He has revived the RK legacy.

I feel the time is right for new people in every walk of life whether it's cricket, politics, journalism or cinema. This nation will always support true talent. The nation's mind will lapse into inertia if we don't encourage fresh talent.

Sonam too is a winner.
After Dimple this is the best debut by a female performer. She plays a grey creature of the night. That smothered hysteria of waiting for a year for a man to come back…it's such a difficult role to play.

Happy with the outcome of Saawariya so far?
According to me it's the biggest hit of my career so far. I'm proud I've created a superstar in Ranbir Kapoor.