Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is on a high. After being awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to cinema, his production Mary Kom won the National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. His latest, Gabbar Is Back is his company's fourth hit in a row. Excerpts from a conversation with the filmmaker:

Your production Gabbar Is Back is a hit.
It's great news that the film had something that has reached the audience. Gabbar Is Back is not just commercial cinema but socially relevant too, and I think that has resonated with viewers across the country. The fact that it has done well at the box office, especially the single screen theatres, is an added bonus.

Ram Leela, Rowdy Rathore, Mary Kom and now Gabbar Is Back is a hit. That makes it four back-to-back hits for Bhansali Productions.
I'm humbled and thankful to the audience for all the love and support. The success of these films encourages us to work harder and to bring audiences a variety of versatile, entertaining content under the Bhansali Productions banner.

How did it feel to be awarded the Padma Shri?
It feels special. I've worked hard for over twenty years, so an acknowledgement and a pat on
the back feels good. An artiste is never satisfied. One feels that now, there is an added responsibility and more to achieve.

Mary Kom recently won the National Award. This would be the third film you are associated with after Devdas and Black to win a National Award.
I have put in endless hours fine tuning it... working on the creative of the screenplay, the music and the creative edit of the film. Priyanka Chopra and I discussed the film for hours. What makes this an even bigger achievement is that the film was a biopic on a living person and helmed by a debutante director, Omung Kumar, someone I believed in. I have always encouraged new talent and we had a new promising team of technicians working on this film. I'm glad the risk paid off. It is a film that I am truly proud of and for it to receive the recognition it has is overwhelming.

Tell us about your dream project Bajirao Mastani?
Bajirao Mastani is a story extremely close to my heart and one I have lived with for several years now. I am finally making it and thoroughly enjoying the process of the realisation of this dream. Apart from having a great team working behind the scenes to bring this alive, we also have a great cast - Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.