Sanjay Leela Bhansali Conceptualised Heeramandi 14 Years Ago, Found It Too Vast For Film Format

Aditi Rao Hydari, Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Richa Chadha will headline the upcoming web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. The show, created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, will debut on Netflix on May 1 but the vision for the series came to the filmmaker a long time ago. At the trailer launch of Heeramandi, the makers revealed that the show was conceptualised 14 years before it became a reality. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali faced hurdles in the making of Heeramandi 

Netflix India VP Content Monika Shergill said Bhansali has dreamt of making Heeramandi a reality for the past 14 years. "Somewhere he always felt he had to have the right medium and right length of the story. It was not getting contained in a film format. It is such an immersive world, it's such a powerful story. He wanted to do it in the most perfect way. So I think it was literally a match made in heaven," Shergill said.

Prerna Singh, CEO of Bhansali Productions, said they found comfort in the streamer. She also praised Bhansali for his "radical casting" in the show that also features Fardeen Khan, father-son duo Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman as well as Taha Shah in key roles.

What is Heeramandi about?

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. The series will premiere on Netflix on May 1.