Mumbai: Acclaimed Indian director and writer Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s OTT debut is now being recognised at a global level. Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar caught everyone’s attention from the magnificent sets to lavishing costumes with an ensemble stellar cast. But would you believe if any other director apart from SLB had an opportunity to helm this period drama? You might be stunned to know that renowned director David Dhawan could have directed Heeramandi. Scroll down to find more details.
During a conversation with The Hindustan Times, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, revealed that Aditya Pancholi approached him with the Heeramandi project when Bhansai was busy shooting Devdas which starred prominent actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Madhuri Dixit. Bhansali revealed that Aditya brought Moin Beg to his house and appealed that he was jotting down a project that was near perfection for Sanjay Leela Bhansali to direct. However, after several confrontations, SLB directed Black starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherji in lead roles.
The Padvamat director said, “Whenever I announced a new film, Moin would call me. ‘You are not making Heeramandi? Now, you’ve started another film. Now, you’ve started Ram-Leela (2013)! Now you’ve started Bajirao Mastani (2015)! And now, you’ve started Padmaavat (2018)!’ Then he just threatened me that he’d take the script away and give it to David Dhawan (sic).”
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Sanjay Leela Bhansali agreed to work on Heeramandi only on one condition. He wanted approval from Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. Eventually, the approval took place ahead of releasing Alia Bhatt starrer, Gangubai Kathiawadi in Los Angeles. He also revealed that the conversation between the two remained under five minutes. SLB added, “The script would come out every 2-3 years. But I always said to myself that this is very big. It needs a lot of time – 3,4 or 5 hours. Luckily, when this format (of OTT) started opening up and becoming popular, my mind kept thinking maybe this is the right place to make Heeramandi (sic).”
SLB’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, captured the global attention of viewers after releasing on OTT giant Netflix on May 1, 2024. Based on the pre-independence era of India, the stellar cast includes, Manisha Koirala, Shekhar Suman, Aditi Rao Hydari, Fardeen Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Adhyayan Suman, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Taha Shah, Sharmin Segal, Jason Shah, Rajat Kaul and many more. The series revolves around freedom, love, courtesans, and Shahi Mahal.
Have you watched Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar?
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