Sanjay Leela Bhansali: ‘Friendship is a liability in Bollywood’

Acclaimed film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali says real friends are hard to find.

NEW DEHLI: Friendship is at the core of his latest production My Friend Pinto, but acclaimed film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has had his share of differences with many celebrities including Salman Khan and Farah Khan, says it is one of the most difficult relationships to sustain in the Indian film industry.

“Friendship in Bollywood is difficult! Difficult because there is a lot of competition. People are very friendly, they are warm, they are nice and there are a lot of people who are friends for long; however, real friendship is tough here,” said Bhansali.

The 48-year-old has reportedly had strained relationships with Ajay Devgn, Aditya Chopra, Rani Mukerji, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor among others. With some he had a war of words and with others, ego hassles.

Temporary friendship

Meanwhile, Bhansali laments the conditional nature of friendships in B-town. “Bollywood is a competitive place. If friendship means that I have to work with the same actors because that’s what friendship is, then I don’t believe in a friendship like that. That becomes a liability — a liability that you are bound to a person,” he said.

What’s an ideal friendship?

“I feel a good friend in the industry is a person who says, ‘Ok, you’ve made a film with me, we had a great working relationship. Now, if your other script demands another person, it doesn’t mean you’re taking anything away from me, or you are betraying me or backstabbing me’.”

“But in Bollywood, if I have worked with a director, an actor, male or female, and I do not repeat them, then there is no friendship. To put it simply: equations with people here change from film to film,” he said.

A recluse, Bhansali, known for films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Black and Guzaarish, has few friends in the industry, but he isn’t complaining. “I, in particular, may not have had too many friends in the industry, but I do not have enemies either. A good, healthy relationship with colleagues is what this industry needs, and I have tried to find and keep healthy relationships,” said the film-maker, who feels he can always go back to people like Salman and Farah, despite their past differences.

Bhansali had a tiff with Farah over the clash between the release of his Saawariya and her Om Shanti Om in November 2007. Salman, who featured in the director’s debut film Khamoshi — The Musical, made nasty comments on the former’s Guzaarish. But the two decided to let bygones be bygones. “Salman has been a very good friend over the years, and so have lots of others,” said the award winning film-maker, who is producing Shirin Farhad Ki Nikal Padi, which marks Farah’s acting debut.

Meanwhile, Bhansali also finds a true friend in former beauty queen Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, with whom he worked in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. “Aishwarya came to work with me on Guzaarish after I did two films — Black and Saawariya without her. She makes a good friend because at least I didn’t have to give explanations as to why I didn’t cast her in those films.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2011.