‘Shut up’: When Sanjay Leela Bhansali shouted at Aditya Pancholi on Bajirao Mastani set

2 min readNew DelhiJul 2, 2026 07:32 PM IST

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known to be a taskmaster on set. Many actors have previously spoken about the filmmaker’s temperament and his desire to achieve exactly what he envisions. In a recent interview, veteran actor Yatin Karyekar, who worked with Bhansali on Bajirao Mastani (2015), recalled how the director once yelled at Aditya Pancholi. He also opened up about the fun he had with Ranveer Singh on the sets of the film.

During a chat with Siddharth Kannan, Karyekar shared, “Me and Ranveer were like buddies. We hit it off really well. We were having a dhamaal on set. Sanjay ji is very strict, so not in front of him. But when we used to sit alone, it was pure fun. He (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) is a bit too much strict. The director is God for me.”

The actor further recalled an incident when Sanjay Leela Bhansali shouted at Aditya Pancholi in front of everyone, which left him in shock. “I once saw him yelling at Aditya Pancholi. Aditya was scolding some junior artiste, so Sanjay shouted loudly, ‘You shut up Aditya.’ It was not nice. I have heard a lot of instances about his temper. When a senior artiste wasn’t able to do a step, he threw a chair at her. He has broken many mobiles and mics. I was quite ready for all this. Aditya was shocked. He was not expecting that,” he added.

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Despite the incidents he witnessed, Yatin Karyekar described Sanjay Leela Bhansali as a ‘creative genius.’ “He is a genius, a creative genius. If there are two pillars in the industry – its him and Rajkumar Hirani. Both have different working styles. One doesn’t even realise they are on a set in Raju’s film. Everything is cool, calm. There’s no tension. Everybody is smiling,” he concluded.

Besides Ranveer Singh, Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani also featured Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles. The film was a huge commercial and critical success.