 "Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha’s Heeramandi Review: Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial series is intoxicatingly beautiful | Netflix")
Language: Hindi
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman.
There is something about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movies, where everything starting from the sets to the costumes are class apart. Even when the courtesans are enticing the nawabs there is so much dignity in it. Love, passion, lust, betrayal — you get to see it all in Netflix’s Heeramandi.
The love making scenes, the dialogues, the world of _Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazar_ will take you back to an age when women reigned supreme whether the Nawabs or the British, they were all under the thumbs of the courtesans of Heeramandi. It is indeed an intoxicatingly mesmerising world. And most importantly, Bhansali has let the world know about these women who played an important role in our azadi, which not many were aware of. It will make us realise that if women come together nobody can stop them from what they want whether it is their own independence or their country’s independence.
The queen courtesans, Mallika Jaan ( Manisha Koirala ) rightly says, “Heeramandi mein Angrezon ka nahi… Mallikajan ka sikka chalta hai!”. Manisha Koirala’s character in Netflix’s Heeramandi is perfectly layered. She is competative, sometimes loving and sometimes ruthless too. Mallika Jaan (Manisha Koirala) is power crazy and she can kill people too if she feels that someone can threaten her position. Much like her character, Mallika Jaan, she has aged rebelliously, smashing ageism with dignity.
She is fearless and shrewd. But the return of her late nemesis’ daughter, Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha), brings tensions in the house. She is the one that Mallika Jaan is scared of because she knows it all. The show draws inspiration from real historical events.
Netflix’s Heeramandi was a comeback for both Manish Koirala and Fardeen Khan and most importantly both of them are playing their age. The beauty about Manisha Koirala is that she is so beautifully flawed and those lines under her eyes make her even more attractive. Bhansali has shown the different age groups of the courtesans in the most realistic way, not trying to hide anybody’s flaws behind the makeup. In fact, each and every characters in the show are ‘perfectly imperfect’.
The sizzling district of Heeramandi shows the clash among courtesans. Classism and power-plays are huge in Diamond Bazar. But no matter how much the differences among the courtesans, love wins, the flames of hatred dies down and stories live on.
The beauty of cinema changing brought about by OTT is that there are no heroes and heroines and all the characters are important. Most importantly there are no black and white, but the shades of grey. Bhansali understands that there are only shades of grey to every story, nothing is completely black or completely white. It is his debut web series, but the master craftsman truly knows what works on the digital platform and has upgraded himself with changing times and most importantly understood the demand of the evolving audiences. Unlike other typical Bhansali cinema, Heeramandi is not about stars, but craftsmen who have given their best.
Going back to the history of Heeramandi, the series is set during the Mughal era and shows the pre-independence times when women predominantly from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan were brought to Heeramandi to perform Kathak dances to entertain the Mughal rulers. A period drama set in pre-independence India, there is a lot of grandeur and lavishness like a typical Bhansali film. But all the richness shown in the lives of the courtesans is for a reason and that you get a grip of it once you start watching the series.
Bibbojaan played by Aditi Rao Hydari , one of Mallika Jaan’s daughters who joins the freedom movement is in fact a very powerful role. A woman of substance, Bibbojaan was the one who wanted azadi (freedom) not only from the British, but from the whole system. The most striking dialogue being, “Ek baar mujrewali nahi, mulkwali baan ke dikhao.” She was in fact the timidest of all the courtesans. But she had this burning desire within herself to be free and to give a meaning to her life. A caring sister to Alamzeb (Sharmin Segal), she was willing to give her all for the wellbeing of her country and the women of Heeramandi. She turned out to be the bravest of all the courtesans and gave her life for the freedom of the nation. It is good to see religious beliefs not causing a rift among the freedom fighters.
You can see the traits of Meena Kumari in Lajjo Jaan (Richa Chadha) and in a recent interview with Firstpost, she mentioned how her preparation for Heeramandi was more about taking inspirations from this legendry actress. Seeing Richa Chadha in a super glamourous role for the first time was a welcome change. Her screen time was short, but very impactful.
This Netflix’s series, shows that these courtesans in their golden cages living a luxurious life with lavish food, clothes, drinks, perfumes and a battalion of domestic helps to take care of them knew that there is more to life behind the walls of Heeramandi. They wanted to break free from their cages. Living in these golden cages, they understood the value of freedom. History forgot their sacrifices. The society didn’t remember them, nor did the country. But thankfully, Sanjay Leela Bhansali did justice to their contribution in India’s freedom movement by letting us know that they exist.
Mallika Jaan (Manisha Koirala) aptly says, “No rebellion. Queens rage wars.” An epic film, with an epic ending. Though the country got freedom, women’s struggle never ends. A new struggle begins for the courtesans, their struggle for dignity!
Rating: 4 out of 5
WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Heeramandi here:
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