Actor Indresh Malik, who played the role of Ustaad ji on the Netflix series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, said that he “howled” after he performed the nath sequence on the show, which led to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali rewarding him with Rs 500 as a token of appreciation for his moving performance. For the unversed, Indresh played the role of a queer man in the series. The actor, in an interview with Times Now, said that when Sanjay Leela Bhansali narrated the scene to him, he had “tears” in his eyes even though the scene itself had no dialogue.
He said, “The scene for my character felt like, there was someone who accepted me, the one who gave me warmth. Wearing nath means gaining respect. That moment when the scene was done, I was crying for almost five minutes or more. I can't cry silently, so I howled. I was howling and crying like a child, there was a pin-drop silence.”
The actor added, “He said, ‘Dekho, rota jaa raha hai, itna achaa toh kiya (Why are you crying, you did so well)'. Then he hugged me and gave me Rs 500 on the sets as a token of appreciation. I kept thinking about the character and that carried on for five minutes."
Recently, Jason Shah, who portrays the role of British police officer Cartwright, opened up about the same-sex scene in the series with Ustadji played by Indresh Malik. In an interview with Filmibeat OTT, Jason Shah admitted that initially he was hesitant to shoot the scene but he had full confidence that the director would not portray it cheaply.
“To be so close to another man, you will face… hesitation is the perfect word. I wasn't hesitating to say yes to the show, and I felt comfortable because I was working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, so I knew aesthetically, it wouldn't be portrayed in a way that would seem cheap. I knew that his standard would be met. I was definitely nervous coming up to that day. They told me in the night that tomorrow would be that scene,” he said.
He also praised his co-star Indresh Malik and thanked him for ensuring that he was comfortable before their intimate scene.
Indresh Malik on the other hand also featured in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2022 film Gangubai Kathiawadi alongside Alia Bhatt.