Method to his madness: Actress Deepika Padukone, who has worked with Bhansali in mammoth blockbusters including ‘Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram Leela’ and ‘Padmaavat’, wrote a deeply personal note on her director’s career milestone. “9th November 2007. My debut film ‘Om Shanti Om’ was pitted against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’. And as grateful as I was (And I still am...I cannot think of another female actor who has been launched in the same manner as I was), I also remember thinking to myself at the time, that I would never be good enough to be a Sanjay Leela Bhansali muse.” And what was her first meeting with Bhansali in 2012 like? “Fast forward to 2012. I was extremely unwell and laid up in bed. I received a call from my management saying ‘Sanjay Leela Bhansali wants to meet you.’ I said, ‘What?!’. They said, ‘Yes! He is doing a film and would really like to meet you.’ ‘I would do cartwheels to go and see him right away, but I can’t get out of bed right now!’ I said. The next thing I know, he was on his way to see me!” she wrote. The result? Their iconic 2013 hit ‘Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram Leela’, Bhansali’s take on Romeo & Juliet. “What ensued in the years that followed was nothing short of an ‘iconic partnership’ I believe. And together we’ve created ‘iconic characters’. Characters that have been etched in the minds and hearts of people forever!” added Padukone.
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