Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the Hindi filmmaker, has joined hands with Netflix India for his upcoming series Heeramandi. The streaming platform took to Twitter and announced on Tuesday that Heeramandi will be a Netflix Original series.
“The show will explore stories of courtesans and the hidden cultural reality of Heeramandi, a dazzling district in pre-Independence India. It’s a series about love, betrayal, succession, and politics in the kothas which promises Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s trademark larger-than-life sets, multi-faceted characters, and soulful compositions,” a press release stated.
Bhansali, who made his directorial debut with Khamoshi: The Musical in 1996, marked 25 years of his filmmaking journey this year. He is known for his larger-than-life films such as Devdas, Padmaavat, Bajirao Mastani, Guzaarish, Ram Leela, and Black.
Talking about the series, Bhansali said in a statement, “It is an important milestone in my journey as a filmmaker. This is an epic, first-of-its-kind series based on the courtesans of Lahore. It is an ambitious, grand, and all-encompassing series; therefore I am nervous yet excited about making it.”
Monika Shergill, VP of Content, Netflix India, added, “Heeramandi will be a story that will intrigue audiences and transport them into a world of incredible grandeur, beauty and harshness at the same time.”
No details regarding the cast and crew have been announced yet.
“It is a huge saga about the courtesans of Lahore, it is something I was living with for 14 years,” Bhansali told Variety, adding that it is “a very difficult one.”
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“I like to take a little time and the scale is big. I live with a subject for a long time, then I build and build and I keep thinking of it… So it’s a lot of time I give to a particular idea, but it’s great fun. That’s how it finally emerges. So now, I think I’m ready to make Heeramandi,” he further said.
Bhansali’s upcoming projects include Gangubai Kathiawadi with Alia Bhatt, which has completed shooting. He also has Baiju Bawra, which was announced in 2019 and is yet to go on floors.