Birthday Special: When Sanjay Leela Bhansali opened up on his difficult childhood, revealed he used to stitch saree falls to make ends meet – Times of India

In an interview to Simi Garewal on her show in 2002, Sanjay said that it has always been his mother and him in life. To make ends meet, they would stitch saree falls. He said, “Shaam ko jaake sarees leke aate the hum dukan se aur raat tak baith ke fall lagate the. Kabhi 4 saree milti thi, kabhi 12 saree milti thi, kabhi 24 saree milti thi so that was there, we had to face it” (We would stitch saree falls till late in the night, sometimes we would get 4, sometimes 24).

He also opened up on his less than comfortable living conditions where he shared a one room chawl with his mother. He said, “I realised that whenever I would be dreaming there could be a rat and cockroach crawling over me, you’d never know.” However, amidst all the negativity, there used to a glimmer of hope as well. The filmmaker added, “There were moments when we would switch on the radio and Mom would dance for us in that small house. She would sing always while cooking and then we would all join her.”
Sanjay, who uses his mother’s name as his middle name says it is a way of “saying thanks to the woman who has done so much for me.”

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is now one of the most prolific filmmakers, with movies like Devdas, Bajirao Mastani, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Gangubai Kathiawadi amongst others.