SANJAY LEELA DEFENDS CHOICE OF ACTORS

After proving his ace skills with films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Black Sanjay Leela Bhansali wants to return to innocence. Now he has teams up with two newcomers for his next film Saawariya. It is love story cum debut vehicle of two star kids - Ranbir (Rishi-Neetu Kapoor son) and Sonam (Anil Kapoor daughter). Bhansali talks about Saawariya.

Saawariya stars two fresh faces.
It is important to move away from expectations - your own and others. Black broke many rules. After Devdas people said it was hara-kiri for me to make a dark film. But it was a spontaneous decision. Saawariya is again straight from the heart. And Sonam and Ranbir emerged from a completely natural instinct to cast the right faces for the two leads.

Ranbir-Sonam is a complete star material
The kids came to assist me. Ranbir joined me two years ago on Black when he just returned from abroad. A little later Anil Kapoor called to say his daughter is back in India and wants to work only with me. The first thing I noticed about them was that they were complete star material. I told them they were the kind of faces Id like to put before the camera. At that time Ranbir and Sonam said they werent sure. Later they confessed they had come with the primary intention of being noticed and cast by me. Its a confession that melted my heart.

Their potential as actors
I wouldnt have cast them for merely being star children. Both have that special aura about them. And they have been preparing for the camera before coming to me. In the past eight months, I have been training them more intensively and fine-tuning what they dont know. I am enjoying this process of moulding new clay. Theyre both tremendous talents. Ranbirs talent comes from four generations of the Kapoors. Sonam has inherited her dedication from her father. And both have star quality. They are absolutely uncorrupted and mouldable.

Being star-children advantage or disadvantage?
It does give them access to important filmmakers. And secretly they nurture the dream of following in their parents footsteps. So they start following their dreams from childhood. Ranbir and Sonam have never been exposed to the undesirable side of film world. Like most star-kids, they are very well brought up children. They have had the best of education, upbringing. Now theyll face the serious disadvantage of being compared with their parents who were superstars in their own right.

Big stars v/s newcomers.
I feel I have gone back to my formative years as a filmmaker. Its like watching lives being shaped. Full credit goes to Ranbir and Sonams parents for completely entrusting me with their childrens talents. I find the kids extremely clued in. They sat with me while I wrote the script. They know what to do and how to do it. Its great fun working with Ranbir and Sonam.

Their only focus on Saawariya
Why should that be such a big virtue over here? Abroad every star works on one project at a time. I hope these kids continue to work on one film at a time. As I watch them evolve as actors, I am so proud and happy with the journey they have made in eight months. They are so focussed that sometimes I get rattled. For them, Saawariya is everything.

Back to the innocence
For a filmmaker every film is important. I cant go wrong in Saawariya. Somewhere Indian popular cinema needs more talent at the top. These two fit the bill. I feel Ranbir and Sonam would take audiences back to the innocence that has been missing in our films for some time. The audiences have watched fantastic performance by Rishi-Neetu (Singh) and Anil. They want to know what their children are worth. So far I have fulfilled my own dreams through my films. Now its my turn to fulfil the dreams of these two kids and their family. Ranbir and Sonam understand their responsibilities towards themselves, their parents and my film. And yet they arent weighed down by these responsibilities. We have great fun working together. That sense of enjoyment is bound to show up on screen.

Innocence prevails
It has to do with the way you look at life. Ranbir and Sonam are completely uncorrupted. Innocence is a state of mind. Even today at 76, Lata Mangeshkar sounds pristine. If youre born with that quality, you will always be in touch with god. From their conversations and their approach to their characters, I know Ranbir and Sonam are innocent. They motivate me to find the innocent side of my personality in Saawariya, just like Black helped me get in touch with my dark side. Im sure Ive made the right decision by casting these two. Theyve certainly rejuvenated me as a filmmaker.