Sanjay Leela Bhansali is currently basking in the success of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. The ace director recently shared his opinion about Bollywood superstars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. In an interview with Pinkvilla, Sanjay said, “They're very funny, witty and sharp. There's humour in every line that they can make you laugh. So, that kind of humour which has got intelligence and has got a certain amount of wit about it.” Sanjay Leela Bhansali has worked with SRK in his cult classic Devdas. He has also directed Salman Khan's Khamoshi and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
During the same interview, Sanjay Leela Bhansali recalled Salman Khan giving him advice about his films. He shared, “Salman once told me that if one sees your film, unanimously, if the whole Gaiety Galaxy is sitting together, you'll only hear one ‘hmmh' come out. That's the amount of laughter you give in your film.”
Coming back to Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, the show marked the OTT debut of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It premiered on Netflix on May 1. Heeramandi features a star-studded cast including Manisha Koirala, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, and Sharmin Segal. The series is set in the pre-independent Indian era and revolves around the story of how courtesans aided freedom fighters in the fight against British rule.
In an NDTV review, Saibal Chatterjee gave Heeramandi 3 out of 5 stars. He said, “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar sustains its spotlight on the women even as it liberally sprinkles its sweeping, overflowing canvas with intimate moments of love, jealousy, deceit and rebellion and with unfolding processions, street clashes and cases of custodial torture that leave a trail of blood and unspeakable horrors."
“At once seductive and sad, poignant and prevailing, the tawaifs dwell in the heart of Lahore but are doomed to languish as dispensable objects of fancy on the fringes of a society controlled by nawabs on the brink of oblivion and ruthless British officials desperately clinging on to their authority on an increasingly restless colonised people,” Saibal Chatterjee added.
Fardeen Khan, Adhyayan Suman, Shekhar Suman, Taha Shah Badussha, and Farida Jalal are also seen in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.