Sanjay Leela Bhansali. This name has now become synonymous with creative cinema. A director who knows no norms, for whom boundaries exist in order to be broken, a director who has revolutionised the thinking of National Indian Cinema and has left an impact on the international front as well.
For one to make such movies, which are lavished and embroiled with various emotions, they must have undergone some event or certain events to have a mindset as that of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He even admits that he has incorporated some scenes from his real life into his reel life, although it will always be a intriguing mystery as to exactly which scenes he was referring to.
Preparation is the first step towards perfection.
Under the teaching of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali began working in films. He wrote the screenplay of the much acclaimed 1942 – A Love Story. However, he was not really recognised as much and never got the worth he deserved.
This is one tragedy of screenwriters. They are definitely one of the most important people that make a movie a good or brilliant movie. However, they are always very much ignored and the media chase the actors, directors, music directors even choreographers rather than talk about the screenwriters.
There are very few screenwriters who are actually famous whereas others are lost in the pages of their own script.
Khamoshi – The Musical
His debut movie. The sensitivity with which he unfolded his narration was applaud worthy. As a debut director he definitely knew how to narrate a story in a gripping and intriguing manner better than some of his seniors at that time.
The story of a girl, with a love for music and singing especially but she must live with the frustrating fact that her deaf and mute parents cannot hear her sing. The performances which Sanjay Leela Bhansali had extracted from his cast was magnificent. Manisha Koirala was first rate. One of the few movies where she gave memorable performances. She coneyed well through her expressions.
Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas, both extremely talented artists, did not disappoint at all. As the deaf and mute couple, their frustration, their unconditional love for their daughter was emoted with excellence. Salman Khan was also a surprise package and gave a sincere performance.
However, Khamoshi was not an original. It was disappointing to see that Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not list the source of the movie. He accredited himself with the screenplay when this was remake of the 1996 movie Jenseits der Stille.
Khamoshi earned a lot of critical acclaim but was a dud at the box office.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
Like his previous movie Khamoshi, the story of this movie was also not original. This was inspired from Bapu’s Who Saat Din.
For the first time in a long time, the celluloid was set alight with a rich and colourful canvas with vibrant emotions assisting the colour in almost every frame. The culture of Rajhastan and Gujarat was explored quite well within the setting of the movie.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali was again successful in almost perfectly directing a movie. His falir for choosing the right cast was also fine.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was not the regular romantic love triangle. The execution of the subject set this apart from the other movies. The sensitivity with which Sanjay Leela Bhansali had handled the subject was fantastic. Whether light hearted sequences or heavy duty emotional scenes, Bhansali was on top form throughout the movie.
Romanticism was running through every pore of this movie. The “poetism” which was apparent in the movie made it a movie full of substance and the romanticist direction had highlighted the emotions within the movie.
Salman Khan, mainly present in the first half was excellent. Under the direction of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, he had managed not to go over the top in the light scenes. He was also at ease in the emotional scenes.
Aishhwarya had the longest role and was the protagonist of the movie. She had essayed the role with sheer magnificence and proved she was not only body beautiful but was a soul performer. One of her finest performances till date, she was simply brilliant as Nandini.
However, it was the intense brooding and the romantic Devgan who was the winner. Sanjay Leela Bhansali showed a new and extremely likeable side of Ajay Devgan. His nervousness portrayed in his initial reels, his disappointment at learning of Nandini and Sameer, his competent decision of taking Nandini to Italy and the climax scene. Ajay Devgan had given a career turning performance and he had a lot to thank to Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
This movie emerged victorious at both the office and in terms of substance.
Devdas
I didn’t like it. I just didn’t. Touted as the most expensive movie ever made and one of the most eagerly anticipated movies of all time, for me Devdas was a disappointment and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s weakest movie yet.
This time there was an even more colourful canvas compared to HDDCS, and the sets were even more breathtaking. However, this was one of the problems. The art direction and cinematography were given greater importance than the poorly developed characters and a faltering screenplay.
The second half of the movie needed to be trimmed and lacked a hammer strong impact as one would have expected. Devdas was visually stunning. It had brilliant performances by five ladies. First of all Smita Jaykar as Devdas’ mother was excellent in her portrayal although her role did not demand much.
Devdas’ bhabhi, whose name I do not know, was terrific. Her cunning act was commendable and she also emoted it well through her evil glaring eyes. Kiron Kher was given a commercial breakthrough and emerged trumps. With a role of not much length, she gave the much-needed significance.
And now to the leading ladies. Madhuri Dixit was electrifying. Her dialogue delivery, her screen presence was a delight. The perfect casting as Chandramukhi, she set the screen blaze. Aishwarya Rai, was again fabulous. In my opinion she slightly outdid Mahduri Dixit and delivered a performance very close to that in HDDCS. As the implosive Paro, who at first is vulnerable but then develops (although it is not shown well) into a more solidified person. Her scenes with Madhuri Dixit were a treat for the viewers.
Sharukh Khan did not enact Devdas, he was his usual self. He was highly impressive in some scenes but his performance did not have that magic touch as many would have expected. This still never stopped him from winning all the words…oops controversy controversy!
I cannot believe how some people would find Jackie Shroff’s performance as excellent. I personally thought he was very annoying and the pain and romanticism which should have shone form this magical character was clearly missing. This character had the potential to be one of the most memorable characters in history but this results in being a forgettable one. The fault is not in Jackie Shroff alone, but again due to the screenplay.
Devdas was a box office winner, but for me this was a huge disappointment.
Continued In Comments Section...Please Read On
