Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ‘Heeramandi’ a tribute to ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ and ‘Pakeezah'

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali who turnsa year older on Saturday is gearing up for his OTT debut series Heeramandi which revolves around the life of courtesans The show is a tribute to Indian cinema classics MughalEAzam and PakeezahThe filmmaker said in the upcoming Netflix series he has tried to capture the nuances which were highlighted in MughalEAzam directed by K Asif and Kamal Amrohirsquos Pakeezah In both the films the leading ladies Madhubala and Meena Kumari played the role of courtesansldquoHeeramandirsquo has nuances which you feel are found in the great Kamal Amrohirsquos lsquoPakeezahrsquo lsquoHeeramandirsquo is my tribute to the great lsquoMughaleAzamrsquo lsquoPakeezahrsquo and Mehboob Khan sahabrsquos lsquoMother Indiarsquordquo Bhansali said here at an in conversation session with Netflix coCEO Ted Sarandos The ace filmmaker said iconic Indian directors Raj Kapoor Yash Chopra Mehboob Khan Bimal Roy Guru Dutt and V Shantaram have inspired him to weave stories around womenldquoThey told beautiful women stories They understood that she is the creator of man therefore she needs to be given a place in literature cinema and art They always told stories of women they were not necessarily telling stories of menldquoSo if there is a Bajirao there is also Mastani for me If there was no Padmavati who would hold the fort fight and go into fire I wouldnrsquot have made that filmrdquo he said The director further said his filmography is filled with strong women characters mdash from Annie in Khamoshi The Musical to Nandini in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Michelle in BlackSet against the tumultuous backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s Heeramandi explores the cultural reality of a dazzling district through the stories of courtesans and their patrons The show features Manisha Koirala Sonakshi Sinha Aditi Rao Hydari Richa Chadha Sharmin Segal and Sanjeeda Sheikh Bhansali believes there is no such thing as ldquoperfect castrdquo for him and he follows his instinctsldquoThey are not perfect for the characters And because they are not perfect it was so exciting to find and discover how they are going to interpret the role So I like to discover a lsquoperfect castrsquo as I tell the story I have cast these women because I always wanted to work with them and they are wonderful talent They can do anythingrdquo he addedSarandos who along with Bhansali had unveiled the first look of ldquoHeeramandirdquo praised the Indian filmmaker for his ability to find a balance between ldquostyle drama and substancerdquoldquoWhen I think of your careerhellip about lsquoSilencersquo lsquoKhamoshirsquo lsquoBlackrsquo lsquoGangubai Kathiawadirsquo and now lsquoHeeramandirsquo they are all widely different worlds that you are building Your ability to find that right balance between style drama and substance and how you move a story is uniqueldquoThe images that you put on screen and the way they move you emotionally sometimes it is a tiny dance step and sometimes it is in line of dialogue it is subtle and unbelievably impactful You seem to invest a lot in the little moments of emotion It is a beautiful art formrdquo the executive saidHe added that excitement around the show is ldquothrillingrdquo and they are looking forward to introduce the global audience to the world of ldquoHeeramandirdquoThe show will soon premiere on Netflix