Actor Shekhar Suman discussed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s reputation for making his cast wait for extended periods. He acknowledged the rumors of Bhansali being short-tempered, attributing it to the filmmaker’s quest for excellence from his team. Shekhar emphasized the need for competence from the cast and crew, stating that if Bhansali doesn’t find it, he, like anyone else, becomes impatient. Shekhar took on a supporting role in Bhansali’s debut streaming series, ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ on Netflix.
During an interview with Zoom Entertainment, Shekhar addressed Bhansali’s meticulous process that might result in prolonged waiting times. He compared an actor’s readiness to a soldier awaiting an enemy’s attack, suggesting that those bothered by waiting are not cut out for acting. He emphasized the importance of being prepared, even if it means enduring long hours on set. Shekhar praised Bhansali’s dedication to achieving perfection and encouraged actors to appreciate the director’s investment in their work.
Shekhar Suman expressed, “It’s like a soldier waiting for the enemy to attack. He wouldn’t say, ‘I’ve been waiting for 12 hours, now I want to go home’. Does it happen? No, he’s there! Whenever the enemy comes, he starts firing. It doesn’t matter if it’s snowing or if it’s hot. An actor has to have the preparedness of a soldier. Even if Mr Bhansali says you keep doing it for two days, three days, you keep doing it if you’re an actor. You can’t complain about losing your concentration. Then get the hell out, you have no business being an actor. Whenever you look back, you will look back with so much glee and pride. And that’s why one has so much respect for him. Everybody gets impatient, but that’s not losing your temper. There is time and money involved, other actors are waiting because of your lack of understanding… That becomes unfair to the director. They way he pampers his actors it’s no one’s business.”
Shekhar dismissed the rumors of Bhansali being hot-tempered, attributing his occasional impatience to the time and money involved in filmmaking. He highlighted Bhansali’s support for his actors and urged them to respect his commitment to quality. Shekhar admired Bhansali’s insistence on excellence and compared him to other legendary perfectionists in the film industry, “He has every right to be. Why does he get angry? He’s not a madman, but he is a perfectionist. You will always notice that perfectionists are short tempered, because they get impatient with everybody else for not being at their level. I know of so many people who are legends in their craft, but are also short tempered. K Asif was like this, Mehboob Khan was like this, Raj Kapoor was like this.”
Notable actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, and Ranveer Singh have previously shared accounts of their intense experiences working on Bhansali’s sets. Speaking about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, it stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Fardeen Khan, Farida Jalal, Adhyayan Suman, and Shekhar Suman in important roles. The eight-episode series revolves around the desires and struggles of the courtesans at Lahore’s Heera Mandi during the pre-independence era.
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