Veteran actor Raza Murad has spent more than five decades in Hindi cinema, building a reputation for supporting and villainous characters. He has also worked with two of the most exacting filmmakers in the business: Raj Kapoor and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. For him, Bhansali’s reputation for losing his temper on set has a simpler explanation than moodiness: the filmmaker is a perfectionist who gets frustrated when his vision is not being executed.
Speaking to Vickey Lalwani, Murad said Bhansali tends to lose his cool when he cannot make people understand what he is trying to communicate. He added that the anger is not personal but “related to work because it isn’t happening properly.”
Shouting at stars, not just assistants
Murad said reports that Bhansali only gets angry with technicians or assistants miss the bigger picture. “I have seen him shouting at bigger stars as well,” he said, naming Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. Bhansali, he explained, wants things done his way.
He compared Bhansali with Raj Kapoor and said both men treated time, shifts, money, sets and dates as secondary to getting the scene right. “They want what they want,” Murad said. If a schedule stretched from four days to eight, that was acceptable. The point was simple, in his words: “Hum kaam karne ke liye aaye hain” (We have come here to work).
A filmography built on that intensity
The director’s method may be demanding, but the results have repeatedly worked. Murad’s collaborations with Raj Kapoor and Bhansali contain some of Hindi cinema’s most successful titles.
- With Raj Kapoor: Prem Rog (1982), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), Henna (1991).
- With Sanjay Leela Bhansali: Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013), Bajirao Mastani (2015), Padmaavat (2018), Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022).
That track record is a reminder that Bhansali’s exacting approach has produced films audiences continue to celebrate, even when the process behind them is less comfortable.
What this means for Love & War
Bhansali is currently in post-production on Love & War, his next theatrical feature. The film reunites him with Ranbir Kapoor after Saawariya and Alia Bhatt after Gangubai Kathiawadi, and stars Vicky Kaushal in a lead role. Supriya Pathak also plays a key part.
Written by Bhansali and Ila Bedi Dutta, Love & War is reportedly a period romantic drama set against a war, with Ranbir and Vicky playing Indian Air Force officers whose lives become intertwined with Alia’s character in a love triangle. Originally slated to release this year, the film has now been postponed to January 21, 2027.
For fans tracking the next Bhansali release, the calendar change is the practical takeaway. For everyone else, Murad’s comments offer a direct look at why the director’s sets are often described as intense: the pressure starts with the man demanding the frame.
Source: Hindustan Times