The 'Bajirao Mastani' filmmaker celebrated his film's National Award wins with old and new filmi friends in attendance
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 30, 2016)
After his long-cherished dream, Bajirao Mastani, swept the recently-concluded National Awards with seven wins, Sanjay Leela Bhansali headed to a swish Bandra resto-bar for an impromptu celebration with friends, including the Devdas jodi, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, his Bajirao, Ranveer Singh and Saawariya debutante, Sonam Kapoor, among others.
“Aishwarya, who was among the early birds, greeted him with a warm hug,“ says a guest from the party, adding that 'Paro' left in a few minutes after a quick chat with the filmmaker and his sister, Bela Sehgal.Ranveer arrived soon after in a Bajirao Tee as a hat-tip to Bhansali and was the 'jaan' of the party with his signature livewire presence. “He went around doling out jhappis and pappis. The film's songs played on loop and when “Malhari“ came on, the reel Maratha warrior jumped down from the bar top to coax Sanjay's ecstatic and ever energetic mom, Leela, to shake a leg with him on the high-octane song. Aditya Pancholi joined him later,“ adds the guest.
Close to Cinderella hour, Bajirao bowed out and the Badshah took over as 'entertainer'. SRK hit the dance floor with “Na Jaane Mere Dil Ko Kya“ and kept returning every time a new song played, doing a “Chaiyya Chaiyya“ with Bajirao Mastani's costume designer Maxima Basu. He even got SLB to shake a leg to a Devdas chartbuster. “After that the duo was engrossed in a long and intense conversation. Shah Rukh was among the last guests to leave with Bhansali,“ informs the guest.Bhansali's proud mum was seen wiping tears of joy as she chatted with composer Anu Malik. His protégé, Sonam, dropped by briefly, bonding with the original Khoobsurat girl, Rekha. Lady in White, Simi Garewal, also made a rare appearance and the two veteran actresses spent more than an hour at the do. On her way out, Rekha nazar utaroed Sanjay as a parting shot.
