 "Netflix’s Heeramandi: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directorial is NOT your history class lesson, just enjoy the show")
Grandeur on the sets is what Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for. And all his fans watch his cinema for this lavishness. Let us all accept that this is Bhansali’s style. All movies have cinematic liberties, including biopics and Netflix’s Heeramandi series is no exception.
Not disagreeing that tawaifs had difficult lives. But they were definitely powerful and kept the nawabs under their thumbs. With the coming of the British, they didn’t get the respect that they were getting or I would say deserved. These tawaifs were seen in elite circles too partying, drinking and having fun. Showing a certain lifestyle in cinema you need to go to another level of aesthetics. They were known for their art, culture and intellect.
Who were the tawaifs?
The tawaifs commanded respect and Sanjay Leela Bhansali very clearly shows that in _Heeramandi_ . It was only after the coming of the British that their respect went down the drains. The British Royals started marginalising them and treating them as prostitutes. They were no longer respected for their art and dance forms, but were seen as a source of entertainment and as means for fulfilling their lust. With colonial rule, the respect that they commanded in society was gone. They were reduced to ‘nachnewallis’.
Courtesans were an important part of Indian society and their contribution to the art and culture of our country cannot be denied. In ancient Indian history we have heard about them even during the Buddhist period. How can we forget the Amarapali during the British period? They were the ones behind disturbing the tapsya of the sages. So tawaifs were very much an important part of our culture and history. And that’s exactly what Bhansali tried to show in his series _Heeramandi_ . Maybe the grandeur, the show and the glorification didn’t go down well with many netizens.
WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Heeramandi here:
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