Sanjay Leela Bhansali Unpacks Success of Epic Netflix Global Hit ‘Heeramandi’ (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNaman Ramachandran The verdict is out. The audience has spoken. Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s magnum opus debut series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar” is a global hit for Netflix, dancing to second position on the streamer’s worldwide non-English TV chart.
Spanning 1920 through 1947, the lavish story is set in the Heeramandi district of Lahore, British India, the milieu of the tawaifs.
As with the geisha of Japan, tawaifs were trained in music and dance and courted by nobility. At the show’s center are Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala), the scheming queen of Heeramandi, and her vindictive niece Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha), who has ambitions to take her aunt’s place. “Heeramandi” is Netflix’s biggest-budget Indian original to date and the biggest undertaking of Bhansali’s storied career.
The filmmaker is no stranger to film hits, including his last theatrical release, 2022’s “Gangubai Kathiawadi.” While he is used to the ‘Friday report card’ as Indian filmmakers often describe the release day box office numbers, global streaming audience reports are a different exam altogether. “‘Heeramandi’ was my first OTT [streaming] launch and I am blessed with all the love the audiences have given me, my technicians and my actors,” Bhansali told Variety from a holiday location where he’s taking a break after an intense production process that spanned 350 shooting days across three years. “I am grateful to Netflix for making the series available to audiences across 194 countries.
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