What comes to your mind when you think of a SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI film?
The palatial sets
the exquisite costumes
the exuberant dance sequences
and a grand canvas of story telling.
In short, every film of Sanjay Leela Bhansali
is an extravagant affair.
While these aspects of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film
are very evident and quite well known
there are many aspects to his movie making
which not many people are aware of.
Such as his love for using water as a motif.
Or his obsession with anklets.
Apart from being a feast to the eyes,
his films are also a study in symbolism.
In this video essay,
we will try to dissect his filmmaking mind
by analysing recurring patterns across his films.
An interesting motif
which is omnipresent in Bhansali's movies
is the motif of water.
Bhansali uses a lot of water in his movies
for symbolic as well as aesthetic purposes.
WATER IS LIFE
Bhansali uses water to emphasize on life.
In Bajirao Mastani, the scene where it's revealed that Mastani is pregnant
happens in a water fountain.
Similar to the scene where Kashi drags Bajirao in water
before revealing that a life is growing inside her.
In Black, when Michelle learns her first word,
it's nothing less than a new lease of life for her.
In Guzaarish, Ethan's desire to return back to his normal life
is embodied in his temptation of
getting up from his chair and walking into the sea water.
But is this motif of water limited only to the theme of life?
It also extends to the theme of death.
In Bajirao Mastani, it's raining during the funeral of Shiva Bhatt.
Like it's also raining during the funeral of Meghji and Kanji in Ramleela.
When the star crossed lovers slay each other,
their bodies fall into water.
In his final moments, Bajirao experiences hallucinations
and ultimately meets death while he is in water.
In his self destructive streak,
Devdas also performs his own last rites in water.
In Guzaarish, Ethan's mother is buried in a cemetery beside a river.
When Ethan suffers the near fatal accident,
this incident also involves water.
Apart from life and death,
Bhansali also uses water to emphasize on passion.
Romance is the central theme of most of Bhansali's movies
and he uses water in scenes involving passionate moments between his characters.
Basically he uses water in all scenes involving strong themes like
LIFE
DEATH
PASSION
SORROW
HAPPINESS
This recurring water motif
mostly takes the form of rain or a fountain.
A Sanjay Leeela Bhansali film is incomplete
without a rain scene or a fountain shot.
His love for the water motif is most evident in Black.
"This is Water"
"Water"
When Michelle speaks her first word, it's neither 'mother' nor 'father'
It's WATER.
"WA-"
"W"
"A"
"T"
"E"
"R"
In the climax of the film,
Michelle ends up teaching the same word to her mentor
who has now lost his memory to Alzheimer's.
"WATER"
Water is not the only element of nature
which marks its presence in Bhansali's movies
Fire does not want to be left behind.
"Fire! Fire, Mrs. McNally, fire!"
Bhansali mostly uses fire to symbolise heartbreaks.
Kashi is heartbroken when she realizes that her husband is in love with another woman
and burns the curtain out of jealousy.
A jealous Raj burns the letter which Sakina wants to deliver to her lover.
Paro burns the letter from Dev in which he urges her to forget their relationship.
"Let's forget that we were ever in love"
"Whatever happened between us was just our childishness"
The Moon has a special place in romance in Bollywood.
So Bhansali doesn't want to miss out on the Moon either.
"I was just staring at the moon"
"For a time, it's behind one cloud. After some time, it's behind another."
"This moon has blossomed after a long while"
"I was afraid it might blow your mind"
"Even the moon itself is not so proud"
"How could it be? It is scarred"
"So be it, Paro"
"I will see your face after the moonrise"
"Let's see what blows my mind"
"The beauty of the moon or your pride"
His films also have song sequences centered on the moon.
"Look, the moon is here!"
"The moon is hidden in the clouds"
Like Quentin Tarantino has an obsession with feet shots,
Bhansali has an obsession with ornaments of the feet
Payal and ghungroo
"I will dance wearing payal and ghungroo"
The female characters in his films are often seen wearing anklets.
In Saawariya, Raj keeps Sakina's anklets as a souvenir.
Chandramukhi and Mastani refuse to wear ghungroos and dance for the audience.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam has a song sequence related to payals and ghungroos.
Now let's talk about the color palette in his movies.
Sanjay Leeela Bhansali and Anurag Basu have the distinction of
making most efficient use of colors and color grading in Bollywood.
For every scene, Bhansali thinks about the colors, lighting
and synchronizes it according to the mood of the scene.
The most prominent example is Saawariya.
With the exception of this one shot which has shades of yellow,
the rest of the movie looks as if drowned in a sea of blue.
"This is the city of dreams"
"You won't find this city on any map"
"Because it exists only in my imagination"
Bhansali has used the blue palette to give a dream like vibe to this 'Khwaabo ka shehar'.
To maintain this dreamy vibe,
Bhansali hasn't even allowed a flicker of sunlight.
All the events in the film
happen after the sun has retired for the day.
Also, dreams are often illogical.
Notice how the hands of the clock in the backdrop
are moving in anti clockwise direction instead of clockwise.
Or how there is a huge statue of Buddha in a Muslim neighbourhood.
All of this is a careful setup by Bhansali
to maintain the look and feel of a dream world.
While Saawariya feels like drenched in blue,
Black feels like drenched in black and white.
The black and white represent darkness and light,
the major themes of the movie.
"Darkness will be always ready to embrace you"
"But you have to choose light"
The costumes, the walls, the props.
Everything is either a shade of black or white.
The color palette of Guzaarish has shades of blue, black and white
and the color grading is done in a way
to give a gloomy look to these shades.
As if all the color has drained away from Ethan's life.
The only time we see bright colors are during the happy flashback memories of Ethan.
And during the scene where Ethan gets to step outside his house after so many years.
Unlike these films, the color palette of Devdas, Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani has bright colors.
The events in these films happen in huge palaces and among a lot of wealth.
The attire, the props, the sets are mostly a shade of red, green or gold.
Whenever there is a murder attempt, Bhansali fills up the screen with red
the color of blood. .
Like in this shot in Ramleela.
Or in this shot in Bajirao Mastani just before the assassination attempt on Mastani.
Bhansali for sure knows to speak the language of colors.
Another technique that Bhansali uses in his films is long takes.
The best example of this is the opening scene of Devdas.
"Devdas is returning from London"
"Congratulations"
"Did you hear that? Devdas is coming back"
"I don't believe it"
The entire scene is filmed in a single continuous shot
which lasts for 1 minute and 27 seconds.
The camera follows Devdas' mother as she goes around the house
rejoicing at the news of her son returning to India.
Bhansali has done this to capture the excitement and energy in the moment effectively.
This intense conversation between Devdas and Chandramukhi
is also filmed in a long take of 2 minutes and 10 seconds
though it does not involve any complex camera movement.
In Ramleela, we have this shot which is filmed in a continuous take of 1 minute and 20 seconds.
And in Guzaarish, we have this confrontation
which is filmed in a continuous take of 2 minutes and 35 seconds.
Though this shot is not difficult to film as the camera is static throughout,
the usage of this long take is wonderful.
I think the reason Bhansali never cuts to close up shots of Sophia and her husband
and instead films this in a single shot
is because he wants the audience to focus on the reactions of Ethan.
While Sophia is getting manhandled by her husband in the backdrop,
we also see Ethan's reaction change from peaceful to distressful
because he can't do anything and can't even turn around and see what's happening.
The continuous shot works wonders in capturing this change of reactions.
Another recurring pattern in his movies is 'God's eye view' shots
A god's eye view shot is filmed with the camera placed above the scene,
allowing the audience a top view of the entire scene.
Bhansali mostly uses this shot during dance sequences
allowing a full view of all the dancers on the floor.
And coming to the last thing on our list – Boat shots.
His movies frequently have scenes of characters sailing in a boat.
Guzaarish
Bajirao Mastani
Saawariya
and Devdas.
"Paro!"
In his career spanning 20 years
Bhansali has carved a niche for himself as the most visually stunning director in Bollywood.
No one else comes close.
He is also known for his 'no-fucks-given' approach to filmmaking.
He makes no compromises in translating his vision to the silver screen.
Every single frame speaks of the sheer genius and meticulous approach of Bhansali.
If there is a synonym for visual grandiose in Bollywood,
it's SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI.
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