Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut film, ‘Khamoshi: The Musical,’ has drawn comparisons to the Oscar-winning ‘CODA.’ Released in 1996 and starring Salman Khan and Manisha Koirala, ‘Khamoshi’ struggled at the box office. In contrast, ‘CODA,’ which premiered in 2021, won three Oscars, including Best Picture. This has led some to speculate whether ‘Khamoshi’ was ahead of its time.
In an interview with Galatta Plus, Bhansali addressed this notion. He remarked, “Sometimes things do not fall into place. Sometimes, your work doesn’t reach out. Khamoshi did not reach out. Twenty-five years later, somebody makes ‘CODA’ in the US, which is almost like ‘Khamoshi’. They get the Oscar! It almost ended there. But you don’t give up. Something must be wrong. The audience’s intelligence must be supreme. You must never question that you made a film ahead of its time. Don’t give yourself that credit unnecessarily. Something is wrong in the film. The sooner you accept it, the better filmmaker you will be.”
‘CODA,’ written and directed by Sian Heder, is an English-language remake of the 2014 French-Belgian film ‘La Famille Bélier.’ It tells the story of a child of deaf adults (CODA) who aspires to become a singer. At the 94th Academy Awards, ‘CODA’ won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor.
Meanwhile, Bhansali is receiving praise for his latest project, ‘Heeramandi.’ This grand production explores the historic red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore, now part of Pakistan, during the pre-partition era. The story delves into the lives of courtesans in Heera Mandi and their relationships with the Nawabs of that time.
