India's Master of Nostalgia Takes His Sweeping Vision to Netflix

In a small cinema in Mumbai, a young boy watched the movie ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ repeatedly, falling more in love with each viewing. The film’s black and white visuals and poetic dialogue fascinated him. As years passed and Mumbai changed to become India’s largest city, the boy became Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a renowned filmmaker. Bhansali still holds onto his memories of that cinema, which inspired his latest project—a musical drama on Netflix that combines the grandeur of ‘Game of Thrones’ with the world of courtesans in pre-independence India.