Heeramandi, Gangubai Kathiawadi and more: Tracing Sanjay Leela Bhansali's love for grandeur in movies 

With the release of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, all eyes are on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's tale of love, liberation, betrayal and more. Currently streaming on Netflix, the series boasts of a women-led cast with the likes of Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjeeda Shaikh and Sharmin Segal taking on the baton. While the show revolves around the rule of courtesans in British-ruled India, it is the signature beauty of its majestic sets that has left many speechless. With each scene designed to perfection, one can spot the attention to detail right from its characters' costumes, colours of the pillars, and carvings on the walls to the architectural designs of different landscapes throughout the series - from Mallikajaan'sShaahi Mahal to nawabs' palaces.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

A few things play a pivotal role when it's about visual aesthetics of any cinematic piece - art direction, production design, costumes and cinematography, the 61-year-old director seems to take keen interest in all of those aspects, along with his respective teams. But this isn't the only project where Bhansali's focus on grandeur and magnanimity has taken the centre stage. The National Award-winning filmmaker's inclination towards larger-than-life sets perhaps stems from his obsession with space, as he explained in several interviews. When he was a child, Bhansali would often make up a parallel reality in his mind, where he would push out the walls of his family home to something larger. This vision is now a staple in most of his projects - whether it's helmed for the small screen or the big.

Heeramandi review: Sanjay Leela Bhansali delivers a riveting story in a familiar set up

In the 2022 film Gangubai Kathiawadi, the storyteller brought to screen Mumbai's infamous red-light district Kamathipura. Among several other things, which also included the use of different hues of white in textiles, his love for intricacies also reflected in how he created a time-lapse of sorts with the depiction of movie posters on the walls of theatres on the sets. Whether it was about the curtains chosen for the brothels or wall paintings and texturing, the team was extra cautious to reflect the Kamathipura of the 1950s-60s and the changing time.

More glimpses of Bhansali's aesthetically sound mind were seen in Padmaavat where two different worlds come together seamlessly - the pristine royal palace of Chittor and the rustic world of Alauddin Khilji. The controversial jauhar scene featuring Deepika Padukone might have become a topic of discussion for the wrong reasons, but one can't deny that it also emerged as one of the better scenes crafted and shot in Indian cinema.

InBajirao Mastani, among the many highlights was Shahi Darbar with its towering pillars and flowing water streams adorned with lotuses. From Villa Kashi to Aina Mahal and Kachehri court, the opulence was a common thread stitching different pieces of the movie together. Shot in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai, the sets of 2013 movie Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela smoothly changed from rustic to classic with the progression of the story.

But while period dramas seem to be the master storyteller's passion, Bhansali has also put his visionary weight behind other movies including Guzaarishand Saawariya, which might not have worked as well at the box office, but doled out several filmmaking lessons for aspiring cinema enthusiasts.

Turning a spotlight on Portuguese culture in Goa, Guzaarish was shot in Villa Mascarehnas which was a typical Portuguese mansion resembling a church. Even in the scenes that were shot inside the villa, the team managed to add a graceful element of space and how. As for Saawariya, one can't possibly forget the blues of the imaginary city complete with lake, streets, shops and a clock tower.
Transporting viewers to a fantasy world seems second nature to the director, who often treats his sets like characters, which was also evident in his 2005 movie Blackwhich was largely shot in Shimla. Films like Devdaswere telling of Bhansali's strong sense of aesthetics and vision much before it became a mark of his filmmaking. The story was a recreation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1917 novel of the same name, but the splendour only magnified emotions of every character - whether it was Dev, Paro or Chandramukhi.

When helming the 1999 film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, the director was certain that the movie was to be set in Gujarat to get the flavour of the region. Among the many highlights of the movie, including the carefully chosen colour schemes for each of its character, was the kite-flying scene that certainly lives rent-free in the minds of viewers even today.

Away from the signature Bhansali markers of a movie was his directorial debut Khamoshi: The Musical.Unlike the big-budget numbers the director is now known for, the 1996 movie featuring Manisha Koirala, Salman Khan and Nana Patekar stands testimony to the director's understanding of lens and music. Time has been kind to the story of Annie Braganza and her differently-abled parents, and to date, cine-goers consider it to be one of his best works.