EXCLUSIVE Interview! Aditi Rao Hydari on Netflix’s Heeramandi: ‘In Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s case you will have to be a director’s baby’

“These courtesans’ are very powerful and they have the Nawabs under their thumb,” says one of the British men. One of the biggest of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s projects, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, marks a captivating new chapter in his ongoing exploration of female strength and resilience across his filmography.

In Netflix’s Heeramandi, Aditi Rao Hydari plays the role of Bibbo Jaan, one of the nicest courtesans of Diamond Bazaar. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Firstpost, she talks about the different layers of her character and how challenging it was to get into the skin of the role. She says that to be on director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s sets, you will have to literally surrender yourself to him. She says, “You feel like a child on a playground.”

Edited excerpts from the interview:

 You are one of the nicest courtesans here in Sanjay Leela Bhansali ’s _Heeramandi_ . What was the preparation of the role of Bibbo Jaan like?

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Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted my character as Bibbo Jaan to show that there are a lot of thoughts simmering within her. And there is a parallel universe that she inhabits and that is constantly juxtaposed with her reality. And I found that to be very interesting about my character. I could see Sanjay (sir) moving me towards inhabiting both these universes seamlessly.

My portrayal of the character needed to happen in a very effortless manner and as you said that she is the one with the most kind and pure heart, so even when a plot is being hatched, even during that time the trueness of her heart should never be spoiled. It is interesting for me because there is this huge purpose behind what she does. There are many things that she is doing wrong but you will never be able to understand because it’s coming from a good person.

On working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali…

I kind of enjoyed playing this role and Sanjay (sir) is the master of going into the many layers of a human being’s brain and in every scene you will notice how he layers each and every character in a brilliant way.  In his case you have to be a director’s baby and you very effortlessly become one. You feel like a child on a playground. It’s like you are going to jump in a jungle gym, but you will never get hurt by falling. He will hold you and put you in the right place. He literally nurtures you and I always longed for someone to hand hold me and he just gives it to you. He kind of lives the guru shishya parampara. I had to just surrender to Sanjay Leela Bhansali. To be a child was the best way to be on the sets.

There is no hero or heroine in today’s cinema. Cinema is changing and every character has an important role to play on OTT. What do you have to say about that change?

Everyone is the hero or heroine of their own story with the digital platform. And now you don’t need a proto-type of a hero to tell a story. The fact that there is a kind of democracy in telling these stories and creativity is at its peak. And you can tell the stories that you want to tell.  There is no pressure on the digital platform and I am saying this for the love of big screen cinema as well. I love both the platforms. But with OTT there are different kinds of stories and different kinds of narratives which are more human. And every story is important and every story must be told.

WATCH the trailer of Netflix & Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi here: