Actor Sharad Kelkar has re-opened the debate on how far Sanjay Leela Bhansali can go in his quest for perfection.
Sharad revealed that for a dance number in Galiyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela Bhansali reshot a whole a sequence with a thousand dancers because one of the lamps in the frame was unlit.
When I mention this to Bhansali he doesn’ deny it. “I can’t remember the particular incident. But it is something that I would do ,not once but any times over. I can’t tolerate laziness indifference or mediocrity in myself or those who work with me.”
Bhansali who is now putting finishing touches to his ambitious webseries Heeramandi on Netflix cites the example of his idol Lata Mangeshkar. “She would never compromise on a single line , not even one note during the recordings. If there was an imperfect note, the composer would sometimes say, ‘Let it be. Only you can see the flaw.’ She would flatly refuse to let go arguing, ‘Today it’s just you and I in this recording room. Tomorrow it would be thousands and millions of listeners listening to the song.’ If I can achieve even a fraction of Lataji’s perfection in my cinema, I would consider myself blessed.”