The National Award For Music Composition Is Very Precious To Me,” Sanjay Leela Bhansali Revives Era Of Filmmaker-Composer

When Sanjay Leela Bhansali heard the news that he had been awarded the National award for best music  composer  for his songs and background music  in  Padmaavat  it was like  a long-cherished dream come true.

“I’ve always wanted to be recognized  for  my work as a music composer. Ever since I started officially composing my own songs in  Ram Leela, it’s  been  new  journey, a new avenue  of exploration for me.”

Sanjay is now  busy composing the music for his new directorial venture Inshallah where the songs and music will  be filmed on  Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt .

You may  think Sanjay Leela  Bhansali had  no  film on release  in 2019.  But you are wrong. The  maestro of  operatic  moviemaking has been very busy for  the last one year after the completion of  his last directorial epic Padmaavat.

 He was  busy composing music for  his production Malaal  which launched  the careers  of  Meezaan Jaaferi(son  of  Javed Jafferi) along with Sharmin Segal who is Bhansali’s niece.

Bhansali says it wasn’t easy doing music for a film that was directed by another director(Mangesh Hadawale. “I had to constantly keep Mangesh’s vision in mind while creating  the songs. It was  a tightrope walk. While my own  vision as a composer prodded  awake the songs, they finally had to  convey what  the director wanted.”

Extra care  over the  songs  since Malaal  is  his niece’s debut?

Bhansali disagrees on  that.  “No, I think the  process  of creating  a  film score  for me  is not incumbent on  whom it is being done  for. For me the songs in Ram Leela,Padmaavat,  Bajirao Mastani are as  precious as  the songs I’ve created fo the two very talented  newcomers in Malaal, or  for that matter , the  music I am creating for the next film I’m directing Inshallah.”

 One now hears  director  Ali Abbas Zafar  is also creating his own  song for Bharat. 

Are  we  moving towards  a trend of  film directors serving as  their own  music providers?Satyajit Ray is  the  only example of  a major filmmaker in the past  who  composed  music for his own films.

Says  Bhansali, “There is  a genuine music composer dormant in many filmmakers. Raj Saab(Raj Kapoor) used  to compose a lot  of his music in his own head. Then he would share his  creations with Shankar-Jaikishan  who would then  mould the  compositions into a sophisticated work of  art.Another great  filmmaker  , the underrated  RajKhosla was  a singer-composer  who collaborated with  Laxmikant-Pyarealal for some  fabulous  music.”

As a music  composer  Bhansali  admits his  greatest inspiration  impetus and  motivator  is Lata Mangeshkar. “My greatest  compliment  as a music composer  came to me from my idol Lataji  for the music of Bajirao Mastani . Lataji has inspired all my films. She told me that the Latpat latpat opening of my Pinga song was  from her song in V Shantaram’s Amar Bhoopali.Lataji said she liked my songs and the way I’ve filmed them. Then she affectionately said, ‘Aapne mera Latpat latpat utha liya.’ I humbly submit that it is indeed true.”

Bhansali  says there  are other influences simmering seductively in the soundtrack. “I am also proud to say that the number Deewani mastani is completely inspired by Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s style of  composition.Bajirao Mastani is a tribute to the voice of Lataji, the music of Laxmikant-Pyarelal and the cinema of K Asif and V Shantaram.I am very proud to have absorbed all these influences.”