Bollywood: Sanjay Leela Bhansali says strong female characters are the fulcrum of his films

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is known for films such as ‘Khamoshi’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Gangubai Kathiwadi’ among others, said his scripts become strong with well-written female characters.

In a conversation with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Bhansali said how strong female characters are integral to his stories.

“Be it Manisha’s character in ‘Khamoshi’, who looks after her differently-abled parents, Nandini in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, who has the courage to pursue her love and then make a choice, the character of Mastani in ‘Bajirao Mastani’ or that of Rani in ‘Black’, for me the impact of a story increases manifold with a strong female character,” he said.

“A strong female character is the fulcrum of any project for me,” he said. “I won’t make ‘Bajirao Mastani’ if there’s no Mastani”.

Bhansali is foraying into the digital medium with his upcoming series ‘Heeramandi’, an epic surrounding the lives of courtesans.