Mumbai: In a first ever, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali will be representing Indian cinema at the 2026 Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26.
The filmmaker will be presenting a special tableau celebrating Indian cinema, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. “For the first time ever, a true flag-bearer of Indian cinema, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, will represent Indian cinema at the Republic Day Parade. This historic honour marks a defining chapter for Indian cinema and is set to create strong national momentum. There could be no better representative for this moment than Sanjay Lee
la Bhansali,” a source was quoted as saying by TOI.
Bhansali, who made his directorial debut with ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ in 1996, has received several awards, including seven National Film Awards and Padma Shri.
He has helmed several blockbuster films including ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Devdas’ ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Padmaavat’ and ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ among others.
Last year, the filmmaker unveiled his music label named Bhansali Music.
His recent production includes Siddhant Chaturvedi and Mrunal Thakur’s love drama ‘Do Deewane Seher Mein’, which also stars Ila Arun, Joy Sengupta, Ayesha Raza, Viraj Gehlani, Sandeepa Dhar, and Naveen Kaushik.
The film is slated for a theatrical release on February 20.
Bhansali’s next highly-anticipated directorial is ‘Love & War’, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. The film, which was originally slated to be released on Christmas 2025, has been reportedly pushed to March 20, 2026.