When Sanjay Leela Bhansali Recalled Last Memory Of His ‘Violent, Alcoholic’ Father: 'One Day Before He Died...'

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali once opened up about his strained relationship with his father, Navin Bhansali, a struggling film producer. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's father's battle with alcoholism shaped his storytelling, leaving a lasting imprint on his cult classic ‘Devdas’.

Source : Instagram/@bhansaliproductions

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has often spoken about the hardships of his childhood. In a past interview on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, he opened up about his strained relationship with his father, Navin Bhansali, a struggling film producer. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali on his childhood

Bhansali revealed that his father was largely absent from their lives and was unaware of even basic details like which class his children studied in. He recalled how financial troubles worsened over time, leading his father to seek solace in alcohol.

Bhansali shared that he grew up surrounded by turmoil, with financial struggles and emotional distance shaping his early years. “Ever since I was born, I saw him drink. We saw a lot of violence growing up. We only saw anguish and bitterness against life growing up. He was a violent man. He never whipped us, but that’s how we felt as kids. He was a broken man. I had seen him sitting with his drink at 4:30 in the morning and talking to his dog,” he said.

Bhansali’s relationship with his father was defined by fear and emotional distance. He described him as “dominating” and “overpowering,” admitting that his presence often left him intimidated, pushing him further into his shell.

“There were moneylenders who were always at the house. We would be looked down upon at social gatherings like weddings because my father would be drunk,” he said.

Bhansali's father's connection to SRK starrer Devdas

Bhansali never earned his father’s approval, and their relationship remained strained. Before his passing, his father made it clear where his affections lay. Recalling his father’s final words, an emotional Bhansali shared, “I asked him one day before he died, ‘Dad, whom do you love more, me or Bela?’ He said, ‘Obviously, I love Bela a lot.'”

His father's battle with alcoholism shaped Bhansali’s storytelling, leaving a lasting imprint on his cult classic ‘Devdas’. In an earlier interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Bhansali said, “So all that cinema that comes out of Devdas is a tribute to that alcohol bottle my father cherished. And then I have every film as a subtext. From that subtext comes the natural expression. It is not, here is a story of a spy who goes here and does this, and then there was action, and there was beautiful dialogue. No, no, no. It is personal cinema."