Heeramandi public review: Netizens laud Sanjay Leela Bhansali, call his Netflix web series 'masterclass'

A poster of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

Known for his perfection in craft of cinema, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has come up with an epic drama series – Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar – which is currently streaming on Netflix.

It will 30 years after the superhit movie – 1942: A Love Story – that both Sanjay and Manisha Koirala have worked together. Though Heeramandi is similar to genre of the film made in 1994, the new series is an amalgamation of raw emotions, going notches above the tale of freedom, love, brothels, jealousy and more.

The series will give a glimpse of movies like 2022’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, Mandi, Kalank, Devdas and similar ones, but this time the representation of actors have been done in a more refined way. Espcially the lead actors like Manisha Koirala (as Mallika Jaan), Sonakshi Sinha (Faradeen/Rehana), Richa Chadha (Lajjo), Sanjeeda Shaikh (Waheeda), Aditi Rao Hydari (Bibbo) and Sharmin Segal Mehta (Alamzeb).

Apart from this, the series also marks the return of Fardeen Khan (as Wali Mohammed), maligned with performances of Jason Shah (Cartwright) and Taha Shah (Tajdar).

The series took 14 years for Bhansali in making and it has gained some quite momentum in the OTT platform. Also, each episode extends anywhere between an hour to 50 minutes.

Here’s how people reacted to the new released drama:

Abhijit Iyer-Mitra took to X and wrote, “Could anyone get past the first 15 minutes of #Heeramandi? I mean great sets, but 2 songs within 15 mins & no plot in sight and terrible story telling”

Aniruddha haridas wrote, “Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Heeramandi’ is a masterclass on camera movement and mise-en-scène.”

Aayush Sharma wrote, “#Heeramandi is a mesmerizing saga that pays homage to the unsung heroes of history. Bhansali ensures that his narrative reaches a wider audience while maintaining his signature cinematic flair. Manisha Koirala and Aditi Rao Hydari steal the show.”

Someone commented, “first episode and im already loving the chemistry b/w alamzeb and tajdar #Heeramandi”

@mkoirala Happy to see you after so long. A great piece of acting. By everyone in #Heeramandi. Surprised to see Fardeen can also act!

According to Filmfare magazine, In a recent chat, Sanjay Leela Bhansali revealed that he wanted to cast Rekha, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Rani Mukerji when he first thought of Heeramandi 18 years ago.