Making Hrithik Roshan lie on bed, talk without moving a limb in Guzaarish was act of courage, says Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is enjoying the praise coming his way after the theatrical release of his film, Gangubai Kathiawadi. He has now responded to critics who accuse him of making only one kind of cinema. He has citied the example of his 2010 film Guzaarish which had Hrithik Roshan in the role of a quadriplegic. The filmmaker says that it was an act of fearlessness by making the film after 2007 film Saawariya which failed to perform at all. Also read: Sanjay Leela Bhansali on why he exploded in front of Alia Bhatt during Gangubai Kathiawadi shoot: ‘I never told her’

Guzaarish starred Aishwarya Rai as Hrithik’s nurse. It revolved around a paralyzed magician-turned-radio jockey who files a petition in court seeking permission to end his life. 

Talking about how his career was written off after the film’s release, Sanjay told Film Companion in an interview, “Lot of people felt that my filmmaking was archaic and that it was constantly moving in the same direction. I stuck to where I belong. They had almost written off my career with Saawariya and Guzaarish. They said, ‘oh it’s done over with’. But I was exploring, I was fearless if I did Guzaarish after Saawariya. I have taken a boy who is considered a Greek God in Hindi cinema who is known for dancing and action, he is lying on a bed and talking without moving a limb. That was courage, fearlessness is courage. Fearlessness is also to keep our culture going.”

The filmmaker has said that with Gangubai Kathiawadi, he marks the beginning of the new phase of his filmmaking which will now deal with souls. He is majorly known for films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat, all of which are rooted in Indian culture.  

While talking about his love for several Indian filmmakers of the 20th century, he further said, “We have become Spanish, Korean, Iranian, Italian – what cinema we have , we have to be proud of what we are and find within that our language, our voice, our way of saying a story. Satyajit Ray was a very Indian filmmaker, even if was impressed with Italian Neorealism or whatever, but there was still so much referencing that he did with Indian mytholody, architechture and art – just fascinating. Where is that tradition gone? Why it is so fashionable to be that and not this?”

Gangubai Kathiawadi is currently running in theatres. The film stars Alia Bhatt as a vulnerable 16-year-old girl who is sold by her lover and manages to become a brothel owner and then fights for the rights of sex workers.