MUMBAI: Few people are aware that Vikramaditya Motwane began his career working as Sanjay Leela Bhansali's assistant. He has collaborated with the renowned director on films like Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The Jubilee director recently described working with Bhansali as being nothing short of going to "film school," where he learned the technique of preparation, which then allowed him to be spontaneous on set.

Vikramaditya Motwane discussed him spending 16 hours approximately two and a half years working on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. He discussed how going prepared for a shoot was the most important foundational lesson he had ever learned.

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“What I’ve learned from him is planning, in terms of whether writing it or shot breakdowns. Also, music settings, how to work background score, and choreography. Even how to talk to choreographers, and cinematographers on what you want… If you are well prepared, you can be spontaneous and take last-minute decisions better” he stated.

He also remembered how Bhansali would push him into the deep end and make demands for specific things from him. Motwane recalled, “He would say, ‘I want a rough mix of my film with birds for day and crickets for night’… You are a little like a deer caught in the headlights in the beginning, and then you’re like, ‘I am going to figure this out’. All that learning was fun. It’s like going to a film school.”

He continued, "It's priceless advice," adding that Bhansali emphasized the value of constantly standing close to the camera while filming. Bhavesh Joshi filmmaker said that he discovered how a director never stops thinking about their movie while working with Bhansali.

He said, “You wake up every morning thinking about how you can change something that is bothering you. How do you execute a scene? It’s an obsession. It can become a bit unhealthy after a point, but you have to know when to stop and switch off,” he said, adding that to not get consumed by the process, he now chooses to work on multiple projects at the same time. “What I like to do now is not just work on one thing at the same time but a couple of things. It helps you switch away from what you’re doing at that moment, whether it’s writing something else or editing.”

Anupama Chopra remembered how Priyanka Chopra would arrive at the Bajirao Mastani set all dressed up, only to be told that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was modifying everything, which would leave her in tears. Vikramaditya Motwane denied having a propensity to rewrite the script before filming, but he offered an explanation for why directors might feel the need to do so.

“There is a reason that you locked that script, and I believe in sticking to that belief. With filmmakers, they become so subjective, and having lived with it for long, they get bored of that material. However, I believe in trusting that version of me that agreed to that particular scene on that certain date, unless it’s really bothering. I feel every change that you make today has a consequence tomorrow. When you are at the edit table, you regret that you should have shot that certain part. You have to trust your writer,” Motwane asserted.

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Credit- The Indian Express