He has also roped in Sameer to write the lyrics for the film that stars Rishi Kapoor's son Ranbir and Anil Kapoor's daughter Sonam in main leads.
"Change is a natural part of growth. I've changed almost the entire team for my new film 'Saawariya'," said Bhansali, in an exceptionally relaxed frame of mind.
He has recorded almost all the songs for the film.
"It feels good. When you struggle to create something, the fruits of success taste sweeter. I'm essentially a recluse. When people reach out to me in my time of joy, like this, I feel grateful and exhilarated," told Bhansali.
Exhilaration is the predominant mood in Bhansali's scheme of creation. The song recordings for "Saawariya" are on. Various singers are tested and tried. Yes, Sanjay is in an experimental mood as well.
He has made an extremely bold and adventurous move by signing Monty to do the entire music score for "Saawariya".
"After doing two scores in 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' and 'Devdas' with Ismail (Darbar), it wasn't easy to move away," sighed Sanjay. "But like I said change is an inevitable part of growth. When Monty did the background music of 'Devdas' and 'Black', I realised he has the capacity to go beyond the theme in search of unexpected musical experiences.
"He's equally capable of doing Indian and Western styles. For the background of 'Black' we shot with stock music and wondered how Monty would equal the work of great composers that I used to shoot my scenes with. But Monty stunned us. He lived up to every expectation."
The praise for Monty's worth came from the highest quarters.
"Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) with his powerful sense of music called Monty a genius. Monty comes from a family of great musicians. He's Pyarelalji's nephew and was trained by Pyarelalji's father, who has trained half the musicians in the industry. Monty started playing the piano at the age of five."
Bhansali lights up as he plays a haunting love melody by Monty for "Saawariya".
"There's a kind of beauty, spirituality and sensuality to his music. It's not about telling the world, 'Main dikha doonga, hila doonga, phaad doonga.' Monty has a sense of commitment. He stood by me and composed the theme when the 'Devdas' score was left incomplete."
One can expect a totally unique music score in "Saawariya".
"It isn't anything like the music in 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' or 'Devdas'. I just hope people like what we are attempting here. After A.R. Rahman, I think Monty is the only complete music composer."