Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut in OTT with the highly-anticipated web series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar has been squirming the headlines for quite some time now. Apart from the stellar star cast, and sheer opulence, it has been the show’s unique plot and terrific performances of the actors which has made it receive immense applause. For the unversed, the series narrates the tales of courtesans who were perceived to be no less than queens in the area of ‘Heera Mandi’ in Lahore.
In a recent interaction with Sucharita Tyagi, Richa Chadha, who enacts the role of ‘Lajjo’ in Heeramandi addressed the sheer magnificence that has been attached to every tenet of the series. She talked about the grand outfits and jewellery reflecting the nostalgic old-world charm and remarked how all of it was real and was worth crores. She further hilariously mentioned that if given a chance, she could have run away wearing all those expensive jewels and produce a film of her own. In her words:
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“Beautiful clothes and beautiful jewellery. Yes, all the jewellery is genuine. If I wore all of it and ran away, I could probably produce another film of my own with the cumulative worth.”
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Well, Heeramandi has kept up the legacy of grandeur that is visible in every project of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. For this project, the filmmaker roped in the talented designer duo, Rimple and Harpreet, who have designed over 300 outfits, including intricately crafted anarkalis and lehengas for the show. If various reports are to be believed, the estimated price of the number of outfits created by the designers is around Rs. 2-3 crores.
For the unversed, Heeramandi features a multi-star cast, including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Sharmin Sehgal, Taha Shah Badusshah, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, and Farida Jalal. According to a latest report, Sonakshi Sinha is apparently the highest-paid actress for the series, who has charged Rs. 2 crores for enacting the role of ‘Fareedan’.
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While attending an event in Los Angeles, Sanjay Leela Bhansali revealed how he initially planned Heeramandi to be a film, that had been in his mind for the last 18 years. However, due to the extensive plotline, he had to summarize it and make it a web series. Furthermore, he revealed how he had several other casting probabilities in mind, which not only included evergreen Bollywood stars like Rekha and Rani Mukerji, but also Pakistani stars, such as Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan. In his words:
“I had multiple castings in my mind, the idea has been there for 18 years. I thought about Rekha ji and then Kareena Kapoor Khan and Rani Mukerji. It was a film back then. I then also thought about Mahira Khan, the Pakistani actress, and Imran Abbas and Fawad Khan were also in my mind at one point of time. But I ended up with this ensemble cast."
What do you think about Richa Chadha’s revelation? Let us know.
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