Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi will explore stories of courtesans in the kothas (bordellos) of Lahore's Heera Mandi over the course of three generations. This is the first time that the filmmaker is exploring the web space.
Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who recently marked 25 years in the industry, will be partnering with Netflix for his upcoming series, Heeramandi. The series will explore stories of courtesans, the hidden cultural reality of Heeramandi, a district in Lahore in pre-Independence India. The show will have all the trademarks of a Bhansali film, grand sets, elaborate compositions and a plethora of characters. Heeramandi promises to be stories of love, betrayal, politics and succession.
In a statement, Bhansali said, “Heeramandi is an important milestone in my journey as a filmmaker. This is an epic, first of its kind series based on the courtesans of Lahore. It is an ambitious, grand and all-encompassing series; therefore I am nervous yet excited about making it. I am looking forward to my partnership with Netflix and bringing Heeramandi to audiences all over the world.” Bhansali, who began his career with Khamoshi, has cemented a position for himself with films such as include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Guzaarish, Goliyon Ke Rasleela: Ram Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat among others. His last film Padmaavat, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, grossed over Rs 300 crore at the box office.
Speaking to Variety, the filmmaker said, “It is a huge saga about the courtesans of Lahore, it is something I was living with for 14 years. It’s very vast and ambitious.” Heeramandi will explore themes of love, betrayal, succession and politics in the ‘kothas’ of Heeramandi through three generations of courtesans, said the report.
Netflix India shared the announcement on Instagram with the caption, “We are excited to announce that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi IS COMING TO NETFLIX. Words aren’t enough to explain how excited we are that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is partnering with us for this epic Netflix Original series but these emojis come pretty close.”
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On his completion of 25 years in the industry, Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone penned emotional posts for the filmmaker. “Whenever you are directed by him you have a tremendous growth spurt as a performer. He challenges you, he pushes you to deliver a performance that’s visceral, spirited and comes from a place deep within you. He enriches and inspires you. He nurtures his actors and extracts their very best performances,” read an excerpt from Ranveer’s post.
Deepika wrote about how she thought she ‘would never be good enough to be Bhansali’s muse’. Deepika has delivered glowing hits with the filmmaker, including Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat.
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