Sanjay Leela Bhansali thought about including Pakistani actors in Heeramandi

The much-hyped Netflix series ‘Heeramandi’, directed by renowned Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is now streaming on Netflix. It marks Sanjay’s debut as a director on OTT platforms and features a stellar cast including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Richa Chadha, Fardeen Khan, Sharmin Segal and Shekhar Suman. The ‘Heeramandi’ team has been giving many interviews on social media and in the media as they promote the expensive project.

Bhansali shared in an interview on YouTube that he once thought about casting top Pakistani actors for the series.
“I thought about casting many actors over eighteen years. Initially, I considered Rekha Ji, Kareena, and Rani Mukherji. Later, I had Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Imran Abbas in my mind for ‘Heeramandi, but I ended up with this ensemble cast.”

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is a visually stunning drama, easily identifiable as a Bhansali production. It tells the stories of courtesans, known as tawaifs, living in Lahore’s red-light district of ‘Heera Mandi’ during the Indian independence movement in the British Raj.