Ever since its release, Alia Bhatt's Gangubai Kathiawadi is on the rage at the box office. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial crossed the Rs.100 crore mark at the box office worldwide within a few days of its release.
Despite tough competition from Amitabh Bachchan's Jhund and The Batman, the film is going full house and is racing towards Rs. 100 crore mark in domestic market alone. The film is loosely adapted from the book "Mafia Queens of Mumbai" written by S Hussain Zaidi.
Well, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is reeling on the success of the film but that hasn't stopped him from working on his next. After entertaining the audience on the big screen for years, SLB is all set for his small screen debut next — with a nine-episode drama for Netflix titled Heeramandi.
Packed with drama, grandeur, and reality, the series is based on the famous Heera Mandi, the red light district in Lahore, during the Mughal era. The market was originally a food market opened by Hira Singh Nabha, a local merchant, but evoled as a centre for beautiful prostitutes brought by Mughals mainly from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Later, some women from other parts of Indian Subcontinent were added to perform classical Indian dances such as Kathak. Even the British colonial rule continued the Heera Mandi's reputation.
Here is a sneak-peek of what we know:
The drama will have a detailed narration of the life story of three generations of courtesans in the pre-independence era. It has been reported that writer Moin Baig gave the story of Heeramandi to SLB 14 years ago.
Though the casting has not been finalised yet, big names such as Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao, Manisha Koirala, Rekha, Tabu, Nirmrat Kaur, Huma Qureshi, Juhi Chawla and Madhuri Dixit have been approached for various roles. Rumour mills were churning out stories on SLB approaching Priyanka Chopra for an important role but the actress had to turn it down due to date issues.
Of course, the sets will be grand and mesmerising. It has been reported that SLB, who will be directing only a few episodes, has already started working on the mammoth sets. Mitakshara Kumar, who previously assisted SLB, will be co-directing the project.
Known for his detailing task, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is said to have roped in a team of 700 artists to recreate the era. The mega project will revolve around the politics at the brothel, their daily life struggle and the race to emerge as the winner.
