Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is ready to step into the digital platform with his first web series, Heeramandi. The star-studded series is set in the pre-partition Lahore’s red-light area, located inside the Walled City of Lahore. It is also called shahi mohalla. It focuses on stories of courtesans, the hidden cultural reality of Heeramandi.
However, Pakistanis stars are upset over the project. They are even questioning their industry that Pakistani filmmakers should narrate such stories. Pakistani actress Ushna Shah took to Twitter to express her distaste at Heeramandi being made by an Indian filmmaker. She wrote: “Culture collaboration is one thing, but this is appropriation. Mimicking ours will make the project lose authenticity! India has a plethora of rich cultures & history to film, this isn’t theirs to make!”
She further elaborated in the following tweet, “Heera mandi was in Lahore, Lahore is in Pakistan. Its relevance is to the Mughal empire on which Pakistani history is predominantly set. This would be like a Pakistani director making a film about Mahabharata.”
Heeramandi will explore stories of courtesans, the hidden cultural reality of Heera Mandi in Lahore. It is about love, betrayal, succession, and politics in the ‘Kotha. Also, the series will have all the trademarks of a Bhansali film, including lavish sets, great compositions, and a variety of characters.
The cast of the web series has not been revealed. Heeramandi will stream on Netflix.
Image Credit: Twitter \ Ushna Shah, Instagram \ Netflix.
