Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Indian film director, producer, writer, and music director, born February 24, 1963, in Mumbai. Sanjay began as an assistant to Vidhu Vinod Chopra in the 1989 award-winning ‘Parinda’, a Hindi crime drama. He made his directorial debut in ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ in 1996, which was liked by the critics but a box office failure. He has won the Filmfare Best Director and Best Film Award for ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ (1999), ‘Devdas’ (2002), and ‘Black’ (2005). Sanjay Leela Bhansali movies have a look that is easy to identify as visually extravagant, almost like a work of art. In 2013, ‘Ram-Leela’ was nominated for Filmfare Best Director, Best Film, and Best Music Director awards. It starred Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, and it is thought that they fell in love during filming. In 2015, Sanjay produced ‘Mary Kom’, which starred Priyanka Chopra, and won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. In 2016, ‘Bajrao Mastani’, again starring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, won Filmfare Awards in the following categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress (Priyanka Chopra), Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Action. ‘Padmaavat’ became  controversial when a group protested his version of history.  Starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, and Ranveer Singh, it became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time. In 2022, Sanjay directed ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, starring Alia Bhatt as a famous real life brothel owner in the 60s. In 2024, Sanjay directed and did the screenplay for the web series, ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’, a period drama set during the Indian independence movement in the red-light district of Lahore..