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Sanjay Leela Bhansali, in a CC BY-SA 4.0 photograph from Wikimedia Commons
Photograph: ARCHANA MALPANI. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons, File:Sanjay Leela Bhansali.jpg. Licence confirmed on the Commons file page on 22 October 2026. ShowBuzz resized the file and converted it to WebP for page speed, and did not otherwise alter it.

Celebrities / Director

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Filmmaker and composer

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a Hindi filmmaker and music composer, known for his visual style and the music in his films, especially his period dramas. He has won seven National Film Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards and has a BAFTA nomination. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2015.

His directing debut was the musical romance Khamoshi: The Musical (1996). Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002) were critical and commercial hits. Devdas won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and a BAFTA nomination for Best Film Not in the English Language. Black (2005) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Saawariya (2007) and Guzaarish (2010) flopped, and Guzaarish was his first film as a composer. His period epics Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018) came later. On this guide he directed Devdas, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat, so it is easy to compare how his style developed across sixteen years.

He won the National Film Award for Best Direction for Bajirao Mastani and for Best Music Direction for Padmaavat. He has since directed Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) and created the series Heeramandi. He took his middle name from his mother, Leela, who sewed clothes to support the family.

Credits in detail

Bajirao Mastani (2015, Hindi) was released 18 December 2015. Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed it. The cast also includes Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.

Padmaavat (2018, Hindi) was released 25 January 2018. Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed it. The cast also includes Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.

Devdas (2002, Hindi) was released 12 July 2002. Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed it. The cast also includes Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit.

Known for

Devdas · Bajirao Mastani · Padmaavat

Work on ShowBuzz

  • Bajirao Mastani

    Film · 2015 · Director. The Peshwa Bajirao’s marriage to Mastani, and the house that will not accept her, told as a Sanjay Leela Bhansali spectacle. Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra lead. It opened in December 2015.

  • Padmaavat

    Film · 2018 · Director. Bhansali’s version of the Padmavati legend: a queen, a Rajput king, and Alauddin Khilji’s siege. The title was changed from Padmavati before release after months of protest. Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor lead.

  • Devdas

    Film · 2002 · Director. Bhansali’s version of Sarat Chandra’s novel. Devdas, barred from marrying Paro, drinks himself toward the courtesan Chandramukhi and the house he cannot re-enter. Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit lead.

Sources