Deepika Padukone & Sanjay Leela Bhansali Movies Together List — 3 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Leela Bhansali appeared together in 3 Hindi films between 2013 and 2018. Their highest-rated collaboration was Bajirao Mastani (2015 — 7.8/10). Films span Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013) through Padmavati (2018).
The Deepika Padukone & Sanjay Leela Bhansali partnership
From Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013) to Padmavati (2018). Bajirao Mastani is the one most viewers reach for. It started with Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013).
The shape of the work
Never on the same side of the camera — Deepika Padukone actor, Sanjay Leela Bhansali music composer, across all 3 films. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Bhansali first noticed Deepika in a magazine ad for a soap. He didn't know her name. He told his team, 'Find that girl.' She was already a model, but this was her first Bollywood meeting.
- On the sets of Ram-Leela, Bhansali would make Deepika rehearse a single scene 30-40 times before he rolled camera. She later said his perfectionism broke her old habits and taught her to act with her eyes, not just her face.
- Because of their three-film run, Bhansali's production house started actively casting 'strong female leads' in period dramas. This directly led to Alia Bhatt in Gangubai Kathiawadi — a role Bhansali says he wrote only after seeing what Deepika could do with a defiant queen.
- Deepika is the only actor Bhansali has ever called 'family' in public. After Padmaavat, he gifted her a custom gold necklace with a 'P' pendant. She still wears it to his birthday dinners.
- Deepika on Bhansali: 'He doesn't just direct you. He breaks you down and builds you back up. After Ram-Leela, I felt like a different actor.'
- Bhansali originally wanted to cast a different actress for Ram-Leela. But after a screen test where Deepika cried on cue without glycerin, he scrapped his entire casting list and rewrote the role for her.
3 films across 1 decade
- Bajirao Mastani
- Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
3 films across 5 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Hindi being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
Before Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela, Deepika Padukone had starred in 14 films, including Om Shanti Om (2007) and Karthik Calling Karthik (2010).
After Padmavati, Deepika Padukone went on to appear in 10 more films, including 83 (2021) and Jawan (2023).
Before Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had starred in 8 films, including Black (2005) and Guzaarish (2010).
After Padmavati, Sanjay Leela Bhansali went on to appear in 3 more films, including Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) and Tuesdays And Fridays (2021).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Deepika Padukone & Sanjay Leela Bhansali's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ranveer Singh is the through-line — cast on 3 of their 3 films. Ranveer Singh appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
3
