Written by Kianna Best on May 2, 2024. Posted in Production News

Mumbai shot Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar makes it premiere

Award-winning auteur Sanjay Leela Bhansali released his first series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar on 1 May for Netflix. Starring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Richa Chadha and Sanjeeda Sheikh, the series tells the historical odyssey of Heeramandi.

After 20 years of thinking on the idea originally pitched by writer Moin Beg, the director finally decided to bring the vision to life. With Netflix’s investment into Indian content, Bhansali took on the opportunity to create a well-funded production for Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Erecting a set in Mumbai’s Film City, the project came to life with the help of the 700 craftsmen involved in recreating the world of the courtesans with such careful attention to detail.

Bhansali’s career spans over 3 decades, bringing to light some of the best works of Indian cinema, including Devdas which made its premiere at the 2002 Cannes Film festival and 2022 Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai taking the audience through Mumbai’s red light district. The eight episode series released with Netflix will also take on a similar splendour, highlighting elements of Indian history through Bhansali’s cinematic lens.

In his true maximalist fashion, the filmmaker did not spare any creativity across the production, travelling to Dheli to source the ornate fabrics from their garment warehouses for costuming, squeezing his usual cinematic grandeur into an eight episode streaming series. Travelling back to a time where Courtesans were once queens, the series captures the power struggle between two young heirs in Heeramandi, where they are forced to either choose between love or succession. Set in the 1920’s pre-independent India, many societal elements also drive the narrative of the series.

Images courtesy of Netflix