A biography for Sanjay Leela Bhansalihasn’t been written yet.
“I believe in 'Black' as much as I believe in 'Bajirao Mastani.'”
“It is very difficult for anyone to predict how a film will do. It depends on so many things: the mood of the audience, the state of their mind at the time, how they have reacted to the whole treatment.”
“My movies are personal notes of my whole life.”
“The multiplexes audience has one way of thinking. When they are all sitting together temperamentally, there is room for a filmmaker to reach out to a far larger audience in a comfortable way.”
“The Cannes Film Festival is the biggest, most prestigious film festival in the world. This is where filmmakers are discovered, where futures are made, and the most important films premiered.”
“One can't allow oneself to be bullied into abandoning one's dream.”
“When I make a film about a physically challenged person, I come away with so much. I learn to value what I have. My survival instinct sharpened after 'Black' and 'Guzaarish.'”
“My mother was my pillar of strength.”
“I remember during 'Devdas,' people told me that they had seen 'Devdas' before, so what would be so different about this one. But I was convinced with the subject, and that is what drove me.”
“Audiences want to see something interesting. It doesn't matter which genre or period it belongs to.”
“I have always chosen subjects which are little different, and not subjects that you see. That challenges me and the actors who work in the project.”
“I've met quadriplegics who have lost the use of their limbs but not their spirit. They are not dark, defeated people.”
“I work like a dog.”
“Life is not only about dark nights; it's also about beautiful, sunshiny mornings.”
“'Jhalak' was a wonderful experience, but it was important for me to get back to films, since I am a director too.”
“The equality of men and women is not possible because both are different. A mountain is a mountain, and a river is a river.”
“I feel it is important to respect contestants on national TV, celebrity or not.”
“Shah Rukh made 'Devdas' for me, and I made it for him. He's special to me, and I think I am special for him. We are and will always be good friends.”
“I'm petrified of facing the camera. Even to shoot for a photograph is an ordeal. But it's important to break free of your inhibitions at some point in your life.”
“During our childhood, my sister and I had no birthday parties. We would take a packet of sweets to school and distribute it to our class-mates. That was it. We were not allowed to go to parties, either.”