If Red Bull was a person, it would be Ranveer Singh : SLB

  

"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.

What are those subtexts?

You are your childhood. You are what you've experienced, succumbed to or fought with and overcome. I can't reveal why I made Khamoshi but it had personal elements. That's why my films have power. Your work can only resonate if it comes from within. That's why the songs of Lataji (Mangeshkar) resonate. That's why Amitabh Bachchan's performances resonate. Devdas is a tribute to my father's alcohol bottle. Black was based on a story, which my father always wanted to script - the importance of words for human beings. Ram-leela is a tribute to my mother. 

In your films, tragedy assumes a celebratory flavour...

I've done samjhauta (compromise) with my pain long ago. So when you're no longer fighting pain, you can express it well. Being unhappy and sad are two different things. Unhappiness is destructive. But sadness gives a perspective. Guru Dutt had such a beautiful perspective. He captured the sensitive nuances. His heart, veins, nerves were fragile, he'd hurt easily. I'm equally fragile. But in spite of having lived a sad life, I'm a happy person. I want to sing, dance...

Why do you say that?

I was a kid when my father took me to the studio. I realised this was my world. Make-up, dust, lights... that is my world. I want to express even the saddest moments in a grand way. I love life. I believe in opening the door of the dark studio and letting the light come in. That's why I made Guzaarish. It said celebrate your destiny. I don't look up to the skies. My God is in the catwalk.

Can you ever envision a film without candles, curtains and chandeliers? 

No, no, I love them. They've always been part of sher o shayri. Hookah, chillam, zardosi, flowers, brocades, music... I love it all. Had I not been a filmmaker I'd have been an architect. While filming Kahe cheddh in Devdas, I was told why this decadent spending on a goddamn mujra? But it's a 200-year old bandish sung by Birju Maharaj! Some filmmakers have had tremendous impact on me. Like Satyajit Ray's capturing of the jhoomar in Jalsaghar. I seem to know this world of riches, perfumes, ragas... (Laughs) Haan, I lived in a chawl in Bhuleshwar but my forefathers were rich!

You seem to believe in old-world love as well...

Yes, that's why I make these kinds of films. As a child when I saw people love each other and go through any amount of struggle to stay together, it left me intrigued. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novels fascinate me. Apparently, Meena Kumari, after watching Pakeezah, told Kamalji, You've never loved any woman like me and you will never make a film for another woman!' That is love. 

Have you been hurt in love?

I don't know whether I have been hurt or I have hurt in love... 

Your films echo unrequited love...

Completely! I end up making films on this theme as much as I fight it - be it HDDCS, Devdas or Guzaarish. Perhaps, I've not been able to break away from a past relationship. 

You come across as lonely...

I am lonely. Even when there are 150 people working on the set, I'm aware of my loneliness. When the shift is over, I like to sit on the set alone. But I've formed a kamal ki relationship with loneliness. This happens when you know your heart cannot be broken any further. I don't want more heartbreak in life.

Are you waiting for someone?

As long as there's a wait, there's something to live for. That bechaini (restlessness) helps me seek excellence in my work. 

How would you then sum up yourself?

I'm sensitive but steely. I've been conditioned by life not to break or get scattered. I don't think I'm a great filmmaker nor do I believe I'm a bad one. My tears roll down when I see excellence... in a song, dance or painting. Filmmaking connects me to God. The studio is my temple. There I live my bestest, purest and honest moments! 

WHY I LOVE SALMAN KHAN

There's a karmic incompleteness in our relationship. He may not want to work with me, we may not be the best of friends, we don't even meet as such. But yet I feel a deep connection with him. I'm sure he too feels that connect. I believe I'm as much a brother to him as Arbaaz and Sohail are. Salman's wisdom leaves you amazed. You wonder is this man, who's saying such a profound thing, bratty and temperamental? There's a noor (divine light) about him. Usski rooh paak hai, woh bolta bakwas hai, woh dikhawe ki baat hai. There are some people whom you want to cherish forever. He's one of them. One must always remember people for what they've done for you and not for what they haven't.

http://www.filmfare.com/interviews/i-dont-want-more-heartbreak-5082.html