Sanjay Leela Bhansali (born February 24, 1963) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and music director known for his female-led films with a distinctive style of grand cinematic sets and extravagant costumes, incorporation of classical music and inspirations from dramatic epics.
One of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers of Hindi cinema, Bhansali is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and ten Filmfare Awards.
In 2015, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award.
He made his directorial debut with Khamoshi: The Musical (1996) for which he received Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film.
He rose to prominence in Indian cinema with commercially successful and widely acclaimed romantic drama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), the romantic drama Devdas (2002) —which received nomination for Best Foreign Film at British Academy of Film & Television Awards (BAFTA)— and the drama Black (2005), for all of which he received multiple Best Director Award and Best Film Award along with additional Critics Award for Best Film for the latter at Filmfare Awards, and multiple National Film Awards for the latter two.
However, he followed it by directing consecutive commercially flop films Saawariya (2007) and Guzaarish (2010).
He is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India.
He is the founder of a production house, Bhansali Productions.
Bhansali has adopted the middle name "Leela" as a tribute to his mother, Leela Bhansali.
Two millennials get into a relationship where they are allowed to meet only on 'Tuesdays & Fridays'.
When a rowdy Shiva’s world collides with that of a demure Aastha’s, whose family has just moved into the chawl he resides in, sparks fly between them. But given their completely different backgrounds, is there any scope for their romance to bloom and survive?
Rajputana, India, 13th century. The tyrannical usurper Alauddin Khilji, sultan of Delhi, becomes obsessed with Queen Padmavati, wife of King Ratan Singh of Mewar, and goes to great lengths to satisfy his greed for her.
Peshwa Bajirao married to Kashibai, falls in love with Mastani, a warrior princess in distress. They struggle to make their love triumph amid opposition from his conservative family.
Ran and Leela are passionately in love with each other. The only problem is that their respective clans have been enemies for 500 years.
At 2 Ela lost her ability of seeing and hearing because of a severe illness. And then she became a total disappointment of her family due to her untamed behaviors. But everything changed after an unorthodox teacher stepped into their lives to educate Ela while healing himself.
Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi is a 2012 Bollywood romantic comedy film directed by Bela Bhansali Sehgal, starring Farah Khan, Boman Irani, Kavin Dave, Shammi, Kurush Deboo and Daisy Irani.
Ethan, a magician rendered paralyzed in an accident, sets off a furor when he makes a petition to the court to end his own life.
While Northern India’s 100-year-old film industry is best known for flamboyant dance sequences and romantic plot lines, its directors have begun to step outside established formulas and explore grittier subject matter. This program surveys the world of Bollywood filmmaking, examining the personalities as well as the commercial and thematic concerns that drive central Asia’s answer to Tinseltown. Interviews with directors Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowariker, and Yash Chopra are included, along with commentary from choreographers, musical directors, and Cinemaya Magazine editor Aruna Vasudev. The industry’s newfound attention to poverty, homelessness, and other social concerns is examined. Several film excerpts are included.
In 1900s India, Calcuttan zamindar Devdas Mukherjee — unable to marry his lover — takes up alcohol and the company of a courtesan to alleviate the pain.
A newly-wed man discovers that his wife is in love with another man and decides to unite them. Ignoring the ridicule he might have to face for this, he takes his wife to Italy in search of her love.
The son of a politician loyal to the British rule falls in love with the daughter of a freedom fighter.