Mumbai, February 23: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the master storyteller behind some of Bollywood’s most poignant romances, turns 63 on February 24. From the cramped confines of a 300-square-foot chawl where breathing space was a luxury for five family members, Bhansali wove dreams into cinematic empires. His films like Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam aren’t just blockbusters; they mirror the scars of his own tumultuous childhood and unrequited yearnings.
It’s a universal truth: we chase in fantasies what eludes us in reality. Bhansali embodies this philosophy, transforming personal heartaches into spellbinding narratives. Take the heart-wrenching scene in Devdas where Shah Rukh Khan’s character, drunk and devastated, mourns his father’s death with the line, ‘He was a good man, but he left too soon.’ This wasn’t mere fiction. Bhansali’s father battled alcoholism, stumbling home inebriated, even collapsing on his grandmother’s body during her funeral. Directing that scene flooded Bhansali with raw memories, infusing it with unmatched authenticity.
Bhansali’s silver screen is a canvas of pure, intense romances—Shah Rukh and Aishwarya in Devdas, Salman and Aishwarya in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Ranveer and Deepika in Bajirao Mastani. Yet, behind these grand gestures lies a man who confesses a lifetime devoid of true love. ‘I’ve always lacked love in real life,’ he once revealed, ‘that’s why I portray romance so vividly on screen. I live those moments through my films.’
Rising from poverty, Bhansali channeled hardships into art that resonates globally. His unfulfilled desires and childhood traumas didn’t break him; they forged a visionary who heals through cinema. As he celebrates another year, Bollywood salutes the poet of pain and passion.