Sanjay Leela Bhansali completes 25 years in Bollywood, says 'still a long way to go'

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Monday celebrated 25 years in the film industry and said he has enjoyed making movies "every minute" of his journey in Bollywood.

Bhansali, who has emerged as one of the biggest filmmakers of the country in the last two decades, made his directorial debut with the 1996 drama Khamoshi: The Musical. The film featured Manisha Koirala, Salman Khan, Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas.

It was, however, the 1999 romantic-drama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam which got him nationwide acclaim. The film, featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman and Ajay Devgn, brought out his penchant for larger than life storytelling through a star-studded cast, memorable ballads and lavishly mounted sets.

The official account of Bhansali Productions took to Twitter and shared a montage of his films, chronicling his Bollywood journey through his work.

"Each passing day has been an onset of a new beginning. A journey of a thousand miles wouldn’t have been possible without each one of you.

"As we celebrate #25YearsOfSLB, we relive every moment of curating these handmade films just for you. Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey," the tweet read.

Post the success of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Bhansali helmed acclaimed blockbuster dramas like the 2002 remake of Devdas, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya, and Madhuri Dixit Nene; megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji-starrer Black (2005), and the 2010 romance drama "Guzaarish", starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya.

In his 2007 romance drama Saawariya, Bhansali launched two new faces belonging to film families -- Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja.

He then recreated Shakespeare's tragic romance Romeo and Juliet on screen in 2013's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela with Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, before changing gears to period dramas like Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat in 2018.

The special anniversary video ended with the quote of the 58-year-old director.

"I have enjoyed every minute of making films these 25 years... And still a long way to go," he said.

Apart from direction, writing and production, Bhansali has also worked as an editor and music composer on some of his films.

In his career, the director has bagged four National Film Awards for his work in Devdas, Black, Bajirao Mastani and his last directorial, Padmaavat.

Bhansali has also backed Akshay Kumar's actioner Rowdy Rathore and Mary Kom, the Priyanka Chopra-led 2014 biopic on the Olympic bronze medallist boxer, which won a National Award in the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment category.

The filmmaker is currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming drama, Gangubai Kathiawadi. The film is headlined by Alia Bhatt and is awaiting a theatrical release.