Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar was eagerly anticipated as it marked Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s OTT debut. Everyone wanted to see how the filmmaker would bring his big-screen grandeur into our living rooms. But the period drama saw five others, credited as additional directors, joining Bhansali in the endeavour—The Empire (2021) director Mitakshara Kumar, Hawaizaada (2015) maker Vibhu Puri, Abhiiruchi Lovel Risshi, Ashna Srivastava, and Apharan (2018) director Snehil Dixit Mehra.

When we sit down with Mehra, she tells us the past fortnight has been “overwhelming.” “Doing a Netflix title changes the game. People will trust me more now. I shot a chunk of the revolutionary track in the story. That storyline gave depth to the show. Heeramandi isn’t about the glorification of tawaifs; it’s set in the 1940s when tawaifs were ruling the roost. This show gave the perspective on what caused them to fade,” she says.