Long before even the Gangubai Kathiawadi trailer dropped, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had announced his maiden web series for Netflix, titled Heeramandi, and starring Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala and Aditi Rao Hydari among others. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is expected to dive into the OTT show soon after Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Alia Bhatt in the titular character, plus Ajay Devgn in an extended cameo, releases on 25th February. And from what we’re hearing, Heeramandi is going to be in stark contrast to SLB’s staple style, which we’ve become accustomed to since years.
A well-placed source within the industry has apprised BollywoodLife that Heeramandi is set to be Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s darkest project yet, with not only excessively dark themes, but the treatment, including the visuals and milieu is expected to be of a very dark nature. Not only that, our source further reveals that the Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala and Aditi Rao Hydari series is supposed to full of sex and abusive language, a far cry from any Bhansali project – directed or produced – till date.
As per reports, SLB has previously tried to make Heeramandi as a film for the big screen on more than a few occasions, considering the story was given to him 16 years ago by his close friend, Moin Beg. Apparently, the movie was offered to a handful of A-listers, including Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, Rekha, Tabu and Shabana Azmi, but for some reason or another, it never managed to take off, till now, as an OTT project.
Coming back to Gangubai Kathiawadi, word is that the movie was met with a grand ovation, receiving praise for myriad quarters post its gala premiere at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 16th February. For the uninitiated, Gangubai Kathiawadi documents the rise of its eponymous sex worker to one of the most powerful madams of infamous Mumbai red-light district, Kamathipura.
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