Sanjay Leela Bhansali, for the visually stunning movies and emotionally charged historical epics he is famous for, has just opened up about his thought process behind one of the most anticipated series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Immersion into a world that engages the audience rather than mere box office success is what drives Bhansali. This series was his first on streaming platforms and it was criticized on accuracy grounds. In an interview with Bollywood Hungama recently, Bhansali also spoke about his vision for Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar set in an era gone by and how he has worked with various stars through time but remained in touch only with some of them. But there is only one star who can keep him under check and love him more than anyone else- Salman Khan as told by Bhansali.
EXCLUSIVE: Sanjay Leela Bhansali on maintaining friendship with Salman Khan despite Inshallah fallout: “After one month, he called me and I called him and we talked”
When asked if he likes staying friends with his actors, Bhansali said “I adore my actors! I think when it comes to actors you don’t have to be pals; you have to like them as your own children, as people.”.
He mentioned that the actor he talks to often is Salman Khan. They have acted together in Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Saawariya. Interestingly, Salman Khan attended the premiere of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar too—an event which he graced in support of Bhansali. Nonetheless, at least” It’s not all over yet! As added by Bhansali after Inshallah was cancelled featuring both Alia Bhatt and Salman Khan coming out like this,”The only person I still call friend is Salman Khan. Even if Inshallah didn’t happen, he stands by me. He’ll call me; he’ll care for me. “But you’re okay? Is there anything [you need]? You’ve goofed up, you messed up”. I like his sense of humour so much. It [phone call] comes once in three months, once in five months, but it comes because he doesn’t care about my film. He cares about me. “You, bro, you’ve done so many pictures with me doesn’t matter. Are you okay? And that is what it is all about.”
He continued, “We had a fight over work or probably we did not get our timing right and it didn’t fit in place. But after one month, he called me and I called him and we talked. So that’s a friend. In this sense I’m blessed to have that friend who will speak up another talk six months later starting from where we left off.”
Bhansali said, “But mostly I love them when I’m working with them. To be an actor you go to the next day and then tomorrow you’re doing another movie… As a director for half a year at home sitting on your next film…So you feel lonely but all those people who were with me they are working with me every day…So there are times when you feel like don’t take that too seriously…But don’t stop loving them…And thank them because of what they’ve done for you as well as created the character and made your cinema come alive.. And always be grateful to them.”
At the point of production Inshallah was shelved. Renowned director Sanjay Leela Bhansali does not appear to be interested in bringing it back but some rumors suggest that the plot is about a character [Salman Khan] who is still young at heart despite being in his 40s and has just gone from Orlando to Varanasi, India for business or personal reasons. It was in this place he met [Alia Bhatt], an aspiring actress living by Ganges river Their age difference would have been a strong theme for this film.
Meanwhile, Heeramandi takes us inside Lahore’s red-light district during the British Raj, where courtesans abound. The show will feature several familiar faces such as Manisha Koirala and Sonakshi Sinha as well as Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal and Sanjeeda Shaikh.
