15 Years Of Saawariya EXCLUSIVE: Meet Shailey Sharma, the only girl who was allowed to be on the sets when Ranbir Kapoor DROPPED the towel 15 : Bollywood News

Saawariya (2007), the love saga directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, completed 15 years last month, on November 9. The film is remembered not just for being the launch vehicle of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor but also for its music, touching moments and of course, the sprawling and spectacular sets. On Saawariya’s 15th anniversary, Shailey Sharma, the film’s associate director and who also wrote the film’s additional dialogues, spoke exclusively to Bollywood Hungama about the experience of shooting the film and a lot more.

15 Years Of Saawariya EXCLUSIVE: Meet Shailey Sharma, the only girl who was allowed to be on the sets when Ranbir Kapoor DROPPED the towel

How did you get interested in working in films?
My father, Madan Prakash, was one of the first gold medallists from the Sound batch of FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) in 1968. He has been one of the biggest pioneers of sync sound in India. He has more than 200 Indian and international films to his credit. Thanks to him, I have been visiting film sets right from childhood. I remember I was 6 years old and he was working on the sound of a regional film at Dev Anand’s Anand Studio. A child artist was called for dubbing and she couldn’t deliver. My father pushed me in front of the mic and asked me to try. I realized I couldn’t let my father down. He guided me and I pulled it off. From hereon, I started dubbing and till I got into direction, I was a dubbing artist. I did many Bollywood and regional films and dubbed for child artists and character actors. I worked on Annu Kapoor’s directorial Abhay (1995). The girl I dubbed for won the National Award. My learning came from dubbing and from my mom who is a homemaker yet an artist, a writer. When I was in college, I’d go to my father’s shoot after the lectures, hold the boom mike and work on the shoots at night. My earliest breakthrough moment was when I operated the nagra for a Saroj Khan song. I still remember the day when as a young girl my voice echoed on a film set when I announced 'Roll Sound'. That’s how I was groomed.

You have worked only with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. How did you get associated with him?
Since my father is from the industry, he’d show me films like Mughal-E-Azam (1960), V Shantaram’s Do Ankhen Barah Haath (1957), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Anand (1971), Bobby (1973) etc. V Shantaram was a big inspiration for me, growing up and I found a guru in Sanjay Leela Bhansali as well. I felt the kind of filmmaking I saw in V Shantaram’s films, I found the same in his films too, be it the art, the craft, the storytelling, the music, the scale etc. In fact, I saw Devdas (2002) with my friends. While they were laughing over how everything was so loud in the movie, I was crying! I just wanted to meet this filmmaker, who has so much pain in his films. God heard my words. He got me so closely connected with him. Today, he’s like family and every year, I wish him on Guru Purnima.

Devdas got nominated for the Oscars and that’s when I started working with him. We used to work from his house. He was so overwhelmed by making Devdas that he wanted to go back to something very basic as a filmmaker. That’s why he picked up Black (2005). That film created an emotional stir upon release and he began to look for something different than this film for his next.

He wanted to do a film with newcomers and he concluded that there was nobody better than Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, with whom he worked in Black. He was grooming them all through Black as he knew that they wanted to be actors. He would show them different performances and films and give them scenes to perform. Sanjay sir nurtured them like his own children and guided them. If he was unhappy with a take, he’d keep trying and not give up. It was the most difficult time for him due to the court cases post Black. He had the pressure of mounting two new star kids. He wanted to do the best for them and he succeeded in doing so. Right from styling Ranbir himself to guiding Sonam on how to deliver a line or walk away in a scene or look at Ranbir, he was absolutely involved in the entire process. Sanjay sir had composed 'Thode Badmaash' and a few other songs. He choreographed, did the styling, editing etc.

Saawariya is remembered for its stunning sets. Can you tell us about it?
The pre-production for Saawariya was very intense. He had the entire look in his mind. He had some great references and we’d keep working on it. Art director Omung Kumar and DOP Ravi K Chandran were absolutely commendable and inspirational. The big outdoor shoots were done in N D Studios, Karjat. It has one of Asia’s largest floors. And for our film, the studio management opened both floors for us since that was our requirement. It was possibly the first Hindi film that used that much length in a set. The set was so long that if you’d walk from one end to the other, your legs would start aching! And it was so beautiful.

Sanjay sir even put up his edit studio in N D Studios. We would shoot all day, and edit at night. Often, he would get some thought and at 1 or 2 am, he’d open the set and tell us ‘Chalo, yeh scene ki practice karte hai’! The song ‘Yun Shabnami’ was conceptualized that way, at 1:00 am. Sanjay sir got the studio opened out and the song was played out at night. He told all his assistants ‘Lets dance' and some of the best moves came out of it.

How was it to work with Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor?
They are dear friends even today since we started working together with Black. Also, the kind of work that happened on Black was incredible. During Saawariya, Ranbir was very observant about the whole process. Sonam was also extremely involved. They would sit with Sanjay sir and were allowed to be a part of the entire process.

How many days was the film shot for?
We shot for around 180 days.

How was it to shoot ‘Jab Se Tere Naina’?
Let me first tell you an interesting story. Sanjay sir has always been musically inclined. Sometimes he would compose a tune late at night and would call and ask, ‘Yeh tune sunn aur bata kaisi lag rahi hai’. There are so many beautiful melodies that he has composed and are yet to be used in films. And I still can’t forget them as those tunes were so good. As for ‘Jab Se Tere Naina’, many years before Saawariya was made, Sanjay sir had thought of the line ‘Tab Se Deewana Hua’ with the tune. He would keep singing it but he never had the prelude to it. Somehow, during Saawariya, it fell in place and with the help of Monty Sharma, Sanjay sir was able to crack it.

And what an actor Ranbir is! He went all out and undertook a no-salt-no-water diet for days to achieve the desired look. He did several rehearsals with Sanjay sir and choreographer Pappu Maalu. We shot it for 8-9 days. All the girls were asked to leave when Ranbir dropped the towel. I was the only girl allowed and was the lucky one who got to stay when the shot was filmed (laughs)! Ranbir had no hesitation and he did it with utmost conviction. He surrendered to the vision. It was just a novel way to show the feeling of falling in love. It was bare-it-all in the literal sense!

It is said that the shot where Ranbir falls off the chair had to be shot multiple times as Sanjay Leela Bhansali was not satisfied with the take…
Oh yes. Ranbir had to do it so many times as the idea was to push the chair and the chair should go out of frame. At times, the towel would go way too down! Sometimes, the chair would not get pushed behind and there were times when he would not get the hand moments right. But he kept giving retakes with no complaints. No stone was left unturned for this song or any part of the film, for that matter.

How was it to shoot with Salman Khan and Rani Mukerji?
Sanjay sir loves Salman and Salman loves Sanjay sir and also Ranbir and Sonam. It was a magical time for us when Salman came on the sets as he also gave it all to the film. Also, he’s very close to Anil sir, Rishi ji. Sonam would keep blushing while doing scenes with Salman! After all, he was THE Salman Khan and hence, she felt a bit odd doing romantic scenes with someone whom she has known for years. But the way she looked up to him, it reflected on screen and helped the film. Sanjay sir improvised with Salman and the latter would discuss the dialogues and how he should deliver it. Several times, Salman would be done with just 1 or 2 takes. There was an unsaid understanding between Salman and Sanjay sir. He knows what Sanjay sir wants and Sanjay sir knows that Salman is going to give him exactly that, and perhaps even more.

As for Rani, we all love her. Even today, I hug her the moment I see her. She is so much fun; sab ke saath masti karti hai. She looks so stunning in Saawariya. We did 'Chhabeela' with Saroj Khan; it is a lesson for actors in terms of expressions. Sanjay sir also pushes her to the best limit as he knows that she will deliver.

Saawariya sadly flopped. How did you react to it?
Till date, it is the film which is closest to my heart. It took me a month after its release to even come out of my house. I wondered why people didn’t understand the film. It was shocking for us. We didn’t expect the craze that Om Shanti Om (2007) would generate. We didn’t get involved with PR. We were just too absorbed in making the film.

How did Sanjay Leela Bhansali react to Saawariya’s failure?
It’s never easy when your film flops. 15 years have passed. People have now started valuing so many aspects now that you feel that jo Guru Dutt ke saath hua, woh abhi bhi hota hai. Nevertheless, Sanjay sir is like a phoenix. He rises stronger and stronger. Over the years, he’s only growing younger and I have no idea how! He’s only determined to be making films. Look at how strong he stood his ground in Padmavat (2018) or how he held his fort determined to give Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) a theatrical release, despite Covid challenges.

Could you tell us about the films you have worked on till date and what you are doing currently?
I have worked on Black, Saawariya, Guzaarish (2010), Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela (2013), Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat extensively in every aspect of the film. I was also credited for additional dialogues of Saawariya and also the associate screenplay of Shirin Farhad Ki Nikal Padi (2012). I have done the post-production for Manikarnika - The Queen Of Jhansi (2019). I share my passion for travel with my work and life partner Mohit and together we have made many national and international documentaries that tug on human emotions. Currently, we are developing our web series and also writing our future film projects.

You worked only with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Did you try assisting someone else?
I didn't work with any other director as I couldn’t imagine giving 24 hours of my day to someone who doesn’t value it enough. He has valued it and is so passionate about work. For him, I have pushed my marriage date ahead! For him, I took the first blow while guarding him against Karni Sena’s attack during Padmaavat. There’s nothing bigger than the film for us. People often ask me how I work with him again and again. Many run away after working with him on one schedule! But his honesty towards his art and craft is unmatchable. There’s nobody like him. I am grateful to follow that passion and obsession with him.