After winning every major award for Black, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is in the mood to look back & ahead with unqualified gusto. Bollywood's most celebrated director shares his happiness with Subhash K Jha

Q: Like Devdas, Black has walked away with every popular award. Which one makes you prouder?
A: You've to love every film with equal intensity. When I was making Khamoshi and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam I was as elated as I was during Devdas and Black. Today I'm consumed by Saawariya. They're all a labour of love.

The entire team put its heart and soul in all my four films. Just because Black has won more awards than the rest it cannot become my favourite.

Q: Were you surprised by the mass acceptance of Black?
A: I certainly was! And I can't thank the audience enough for giving the film such a warm-hearted response. The awards were unexpected. After Devdas which some people called lavish while others thought it was garish, everyone thought it was suicidal to do something dark I just wanted to go ahead and do it.

I never sat down to calculate what would happen at the boxoffice, festivals or awards ceremonies. Friends who were festival organizers were impressed by Black. But they wondered if a film of this nature would work among the audience. But I never-ever under-estimated the audiences' tastes. You don't do that.

You don't make film thinking about the audiences' reaction. I wanted to make a film expressing the trauma and triumph of a physically challenged person and the sacred relationship between a teacher and the pupil.

Q: I remember how wary the market was.
A: Distributors were a little apprehensive about the ticket sales. But all of us who worked on the film were sure of what we wanted to do. When the standing ovations at the end of screenings all over the country happened, I knew I had made the right decision.

That, and the teacher at the deaf-and-mute school Behroze Vacha rushing out of the film with tears in her eyes...these were my reward ...and the beginning of the awards. Then there was the Times' spiritual- awareneness award.

Q: That award was quite unique.
A: Yes, to be told that the film was actually one way of searching for God...that was quite something. I knew the film was on the way to reaching where I had never dreamt it would. When you fulfil an impossible dream you're quite amazed by the whole experience yourself...how did it happen!

I know the film has its share of critics. Some people wanted me to shoot it in a chawl in Dadar just to be realistic by their definitions. I've a certain style of filmmaking. And people must accept me by my standards.

A lot of people are offended by my opulent style of storytelling. To each one his own style. And we shouldn't challenge that style. I'm open to constructive criticism. But arbitrary criticism doesn't affect me.

Q: Prakash Jha went on television to say he was disappointed when he heard the deaf and blind Michelle's voice-over in Black.
A: Really? Hellen Keller on whose life Black is based wrote stories, remember? The deaf and blind do have a mind. They've an inner voice that talks to them through the sign language which is their means of communication with the outside world.

Two boys from the Helen Keller Institute, Pradeep and Zamir write essays...How do they do it? If Mr Prakash Jha feels the deaf and blind are mindless people, then I've nothing to say. He's a respected and senior filmmamker. I would like to respect his opinion.

Q: Today when you hear Sajid Nadiadwala or Boney Kapoor say they wished they had made Black how do you feel?
A: I wish they had told me before (laughs). Jokes apart, I couldn't have hoped for a better producer than Anshuman Swamy and Applause Films. It's easy to show confidence after the product is ready. But to believe in a filmmaker's dream before it's concretized requires a lot of guts.

It's a dilemma faced by directors everywhere: how do they convince the producers of their vision? Yes, there were people negotiating to produce Black before Applause. But they saw it as that niche-quickie.

But there're no shortcuts for me in life. I don't believe in making quickies. Even when I look back at Basu Chatterjee's sweet light films like Rajnigandha and Chotisi Baat I don't see them as quickies.

Q: Both Devdas and Black were audacious in their creativity. How daring are you in your new film which is love story?
A: Why can't a love story be daring? Besides I've never made a film to prove a point. It's not necessary for the characters to be extraordinary for the film to be daring. I didn't make Black to be daring. That deaf and blind woman walked with me ever since I visited the Helen Keller Institute ten years ago.

I wanted to tell the story of Black. Now I want to tell the story of Saawariya. For me to jump from Black into a tender musical love story is an an exciting challenge. I've never made something like this before. I've never made a film with newcomers before.

Q: Will Saawariya take you as far away from Black as Black took you away from Devdas ?
A: That's for you to decide. It's very difficult to comment on my own work. But yes Saawariya is a completely difference ambience, scent, sound and colour from Devdas and Black.

Q: Will Ranbir-Sonam be as magical as Salman-Aishwarya in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam?
A: That depends entirely on how people like them individually and as a couple. But yes, if I hadn't seen the same potential as Salman and Aishwarya in Ranbir and Sonam, I wouldn't have signed them. I believe in the two kids as much as any actor I've worked with.

At the end of the day, I need to convert my imagination into cinema. For that I need the right actors. The performances have always been highlights in my cinema. I'd never compromise on the cast.

Q: A truck-load of awards for Saawariya?
A: I don't make films for awards. I work extremely hard, much more than people think. I'd say I'm more hard-working than gifted. If someone else gets the awards I'd be stimulated enough to get up and applaud and try to do better next time.

But nothing can take away my pride and joy at having made a film that I want to. I didn't get a single National award so far. But that doesn't make me feel inadequate in any way.