Heeramandi Trailer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Creates A World Where Courtesans Are Queens

Heeramandi is one of the most anticipated web series of the year. Backed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the show boasts a star-studded ensemble including Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Sehgal, Richa Chadha and Manisha Koirala among others. The series will debut on Netflix on May 1 and ahead of the release the team unveiled the trailer today. 

Heeramandi trailer combines Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s grandeur with hard-hitting story 

Heeramandi is set against the backdrop of pre-independence India and explores the cultural reality of Heeramandi, a dazzling district, through the stories of courtesans and their patrons set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s. Today, on April 9, Netflix and Bhansali Productions shared the trailer on their official Instagram handle. The caption reads, “In the glittering, regal halls of Shahi Mahal, romance and revolution clash in silence...Sanjay Leela Bhansali's sweeping saga of love, loss and liberation - Heeramandi: The Diamond bazaar..Trailer out now!”

The intriguing trailer showcases the lives of courtesans in Heeramandi, Lahore, British India. Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala) governs over an aristocratic courtesan house. She plans, fearing no one, until the homecoming of her late nemesis' daughter, Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha), which raises problems in the household. Outside, the city is rolling with revolutionaries seeking India's independence from British domination, with Mallikajaan's daughter, Bibbojaan (Aditi Rao Hydari), joining the struggle for freedom. Meanwhile, Mallikajaan's youngest son, Alamzeb (Sharmin Segal), fantasises about falling in love with the son of a nobleman, Tajdar (Taha Shah Badussha), and wishes to escape Heeramandi. At one point, it gives glimpses of India's freedom struggle and on the other hand, it also shows Mallikajaan and Fareedan face off in an epic battle for the title of Heeramandi's huzoor.

What do we know about Heeramandi? 

Billed as an epic saga of love, power, revenge and freedom, the series explores the cultural reality of Heeramandi, a dazzling district, through the stories of courtesans and their patrons set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s. The series is based on the concept by Moin Beg. Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is created and directed by Bhansali. He also serves as a producer on the show.

It has been Bhansali's one of the most important projects. Talking about it, the filmmaker earlier said, "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."

(With inputs from PTI)