Did You Know Ranbir Kapoor Gave Almost 120 Shots For His ‘Towel’ Scene In Saawariya & Wanted To Quit The Film After Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Tortures That Included Beating Him?
Ranbir Kapoor once revealed how Sanjay Leela Bhansali was such a hard taskmaster that he wanted to quit Saawariya. Here's why.
Ranbir Kapoor Had To Go Through A Lot Of Tortures While Shooting For His Debut Film Saawariya ( Photo Credit – Facebook; IMDb )
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Ranbir Kapoor has been a very hardworking guy. Ever since he was a teenager, he started assisting directors. His first project was father Rishi Kapoor’s directorial Aa Ab Laut Chalein. RK was studying in class 10th then. However, he later decided to become a professional and learn the camera tactics before facing one. He assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Black before making his film debut with Saawariya.
Stories floating in the Gupshup Gully have always hinted that when it comes to work, Bhansali is a taskmaster. He was like a strict school teacher when the Shamshera actor was assisting him on Black. His ways became stricter once Ranbir started shooting for Saawariya.
Ranbir Kapoor, during one of his interviews, revealed the level of finesse Bhansali needed from a shot. While having a conversation with Film Companion, he remembered the iconic ‘Jab Se Tere Naina’ song and his towel scene, which included a whole sequence of falling down from a chair and getting up on the beat. While many of us still remember the scene because of how aesthetically it was shot. What we don’t know is the number of times Ranbir shot for it!
During the conversation, the Shamshera actor revealed he gave around 45 – 50 shots, which needed him to fall down from a chair on the beat and get up on the required beat. However, something or the other was not right. But looking at Ranbir’s sunken look, Bhansali told him he would manage with the shots.
The next day, when Ranbir Kapoor reached the set, Sanjay Leela Bhansali was again ready for the same shot. The actor narrated, “The next morning, when I came back, he said, ‘No, I’ve not got it,’ and I had to do another 70 takes.”
While Ranbir credits Bhansali as the person who taught him discipline and struggle, there was a time when he was fed up with all the tortures and wanted to give up! Yes, you read that right. Ranbir Kapoor once wanted to quit Saawariya after almost shooting for 9 – 10 months.
On Neha Dhupia’s podcast, the actor revealed that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was such a taskmaster that he would make him kneel down and then beat him! This might have been quite embarrassing since Ranbir decided to not take it anymore and quit.
But it seems like he controlled the anger and the rage and surrendered to the master who carved out a great performer in him. For the unversed, Saawariya also starred Sonam Kapoor, and the film was released in November 2007, clashing at the Box Office with Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s Om Shanti Om.
