Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for creating large scale visual spectacles in his films and apart from that, he often includes sex workers as the part of his stories. Projects like 'Devdas', 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' and upcoming 'Heera Mandi' are examples of this. In a recent media interaction, Bhansali shared why he has soft corner for sex workers and the reason goes back to his childhood.

During a chat with Film Companion, Bhansali shared that while going to school, he often witnessed sex workers trying lure customers by stating their rate which was 20 rupees. He said, "How can a person’s rate be Rs 20? These were the things that stayed in my mind. But I could not tell them completely. I was finding them through Chandramukhi… We are priceless for ourselves, we can’t be tagged. We can’t be sold for Rs 5 or Rs 20 or Rs 50. It is inhuman.”

Bhansali further added, "If you’re sensitive to watching all this as you go to school everyday… But their faces had tremendous stories. They make themselves up. They put so much paint and powder, look at the grief. How do you camouflage that grief. You cannot. The greatest makeup artist cannot take it away. You cannot. These are moments, for me as a filmmaker, they mattered.”