‘Entire set, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali, gave a standing ovation’: Sonakshi Sinha on nailing Heeramandi’s one-take song ‘Tilasmi Bahein’

‘Entire set, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali, gave a standing ovation’: Sonakshi Sinha on nailing Heeramandi’s one-take song ‘Tilasmi Bahein’

After earning widespread acclaim for her performance in the crime thriller series Dahaad, created by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, Sonakshi Sinha is returning to the realm of streaming with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. While the show revolves around the lives of tawaifs (courtesans) living in the red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore in pre-independence India, Sonakshi plays the role of Fareedan, whom she described in a new interview as a “slightly negative and villainous character”.

“Fareedan is poles apart from me. She is full of vengeance and hatred and anger and all the negative feelings. The beauty about Sanjay sir and the way he portrays his women is that he makes them so relatable… he justifies their feelings. Once everyone sees the series, they will understand why Fareedan is the way she is. What she has been through… why she acts out in this way,” she said during a chat with Hindustan Times.

Among the various promo materials that the makers unveiled in the lead-up to the show’s release was the music video “Tilasmi Bahein”, which grabbed attention as it was shot in a single take and featured Sonakshi nailing her moves, in the midst of tens of background actors. “I was not prepared at all,” Sonakshi said recalling filming the song, “He changed the whole choreography on set!”

“I had rehearsed for something completely different and we had kept four days aside to shoot that particular song. We went for the shoot on the first day and we shot for a few hours and I did the choreography which was planned. Suddenly he got up and was like, ‘I don’t want to do this! I want to shoot the whole song in one take and let us design it right now!’ That’s when it happened so I had no time to prepare. I had to learn the lyrics right there…”

Watch Tilasmi Bahein song here:

“I don’t know what hit me because I had not done a one-shot song in my entire career and there I was, doing a one-shot song for Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I was feeling the pressure, I won’t lie. But I love performing and when the camera comes on, I become the character. We did four takes but the take that you see is the first take that we did,” she mentioned.

“I don’t know how it happened, that day was just magical. I still can’t believe it and once that first take was over, the entire set broke into a standing ovation, including Sanjay sir. I don’t think I have seen him so happy and ecstatic ever,” the actor added.

Also starring Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari and Richa Chadha in key roles, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar will be released on Netflix on May 1.

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