Actress Manisha Koirala and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali collaborated on Khamoshi – The Musical in 1996, and now after a long gap of 28 years, the duo is collaborating again for Heeramandi – The Diamond Bazaar.
Khamoshi was SLB’s directorial debut, and Heeramandi marks the series debut of SLB and Manisha.
When asked about working with SLB again during the trailer launch, Manisha said, “I waited 28 years for Sanjay to call me. It has been a pleasure. It was a pleasure back then and it is a pleasure and is an honour to be working with that genius.”
Manisha plays the role of Mallikajaan in the series, who is ruthless as anyone can be, and talking about her role, she added, “it was really different. I can only say that it was possible because of a genius behind the camera, who directs so minutely and so much in detail that we as actors look so good on screen. We don’t know what we have done. He just takes that out from us.”
The series is created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who co-directed it with Mitakshara Kumar. The series revolves around courtesans of Heera Mandi district in Lahore during the Indian independence movement against the British Raj.
The series features an ensemble case of Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, Taha Shah Badussha, Fardeen Khan, Adhyayan Suman, Shekhar Suman and more.
The series starts streaming on Netflix from 1st May 2024.