Vikramaditya Motwane reveals the ‘typical’ workings of Sanjay Leela Bhansali; admits feeling ‘driven nuts’ by “culture shock” on his sets

In a recent interview, director Vikramaditya Motwane recalled working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali as an assistant.

April 27, 2023 - 1:35 PM IST

Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane is currently bagging praises for his latest release, Jubilee, an Amazon Prime Video series. The series runs in parallel to the development of India and the film industry, tracing the narratives and aspirations that led to the creation of the Hindi film industry. While the six-episode series continues to receive love from the audience, the director recently recalled working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali as an assistant director in the early days of his career.

Vikramaditya Motwane reveals the ‘typical’ workings of Sanjay Leela Bhansali; admits feeling ‘driven nuts’ by “culture shock” on his sets

In an interaction with Mid-Day, Vikram addressed the rumours of Bhansali being the sort of person who could ‘drive you nuts’ with their ‘megalomania’. He asserted, “Sanjay lives, breathes, and obsesses about the movies. His movies. And you get it. There’s a search for perfection that, at times, feels unnatural. But when you’re a director yourself, you get it, you understand why. It’s not megalomania. It’s more just that you’re so immersed in your movie, you’re so immersed in the telling of that movie, in creating that world and that universe that is special, that is unique, that is typically him.”

He further added, “Drove me nuts because of what I was coming from before that.” He went on to explain that during his teenage years, he was employed on a program called Disney Club which aired on DD Metro. He mentioned that he was often given the freedom to work independently and earned approximately Rs 8,000 per month for a single day's work every week.

Shedding light on how it was different working with the Bajirao Mastani director, he said, “You’re working 25 hours a day, seven days a week, and my salary’s Rs 2500 a month. You’re transported into this world, which is a bit of a shock in the first place… When you see the general laziness in the industry, there’s a ‘chalta hai’ that happens, and you can see it in so many movies. It comes from the producer and the director, and it’s filtered down to the actors and everybody. The sound is terrible, the music’s terrible, and everything is terrible because of this ‘chalta hai’ attitude. That wasn’t the case with Sanjay.”

Motwane commented on Bhansali's films, noting the meticulous attention to detail that is evident in all aspects of the production, from music and sets to costumes. He admitted that it was initially “a culture shock”, but he eventually became used to it. When asked about his experience working with Bhansali, Motwane responded positively, stating that Bhansali only places trust in those he has faith in and empowers them to take on significant responsibilities.

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