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September 25, 2021: Acclaimed director and maestro Sanjay Leela Bhansali shared his
inspiration behind the magnum opus Heeramandi, his first-ever series for Netflix, his approach
to filmmaking and more in a featurette on Netflix’s India Tudum Spotlight. The series will
explore stories of courtesans and the hidden cultural reality of Heeramandi, a dazzling district,
during pre-independent India. It’s a series about love, betrayal, succession and politics in the
kothas.
Sharing about his journey and Heeramandi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali said, “I remember when
I was a four year old kid and my father had taken me to a shoot and he said you sit here and I’ll
meet my friends and come. I was in the studio and it seemed the most comfortable to me. More
than a school, a playground, a cousin’s house, or anywhere in the world, I thought it was the most
beautiful place. When I look back at 25 years, I think it's very precious to me because you have
to be blessed to be able to get a chance to make a film and that's why I cling on to the studio
because the studio floor is the most magical, that's my temple, that's my everything.”
Further, he added, “Heeramandi was something that my friend Moin Baig got to me as a 14 page
story, 14 years ago and then finally when we presented it to Netflix, they loved it and they thought
it had great potential to make a mega-series. It is very ambitious, it’s very big and vast. It tells you
the story of courtesans. They kept music, poetry and dance and the art of living. It shows the
politics within the brothels and how to emerge as the winner. It is a difficult one but I hope we
come across with flying colours this time.”
HEERAMANDI, ONLY ON NETFLIX! COMING SOON