Some of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s most iconic works have been set against the backdrop of brothels or give insight into the lives of courtesans. Whether it was Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi or Madhuri Dixit’s Chandramukhi in Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has created some memorable characters who hail from such backgrounds. Even in the recently released Heeramandi, the story revolves around the lives of courtesans and how they navigate power, love and patriotism. This brings us to the question: Why does Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s best works revolve around courtesans and brothels? The answer is simple and is traced back to his childhood.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali was raised in Kamathipura, a red-light area in Mumbai. In an old interview with Film Companion, Sanjay Leela Bhansali said, “You’re sensitive to what you see as a child.” Sanjay added, “How can a person’s rate be Rs 20? These were the things that stayed in my mind. But I could not tell them completely. I was finding them through Chandramukh… We are priceless for ourselves; we can’t be tagged. We can’t be sold for Rs 5, Rs 20, or Rs 50. It is inhuman.”
Talking about the women and their stories in these areas, Sanjay said, “They make themselves up. They put in so much paint and powder; look at the grief. How do you camouflage that grief? You cannot. The greatest makeup artist cannot take it away. You cannot. These are moments; for me as a filmmaker, they mattered.”
Meanwhile, on May 1, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s web series, Heeramandi, was released on Netflix. It stars Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Manisha Koirala, Sharmin Segal, Taha Shah Badussha, Farida Jalal, Shruti Sharma, Jayati Bhatia, Nivedita Bhargava, Adhyayan Suman, Shekhar Suman, Fardeen Khan and Vaishnavi Ganatra, among others.
News18 gave the series 4.5/5 stars. Our review read, “Bhansali pens a near-perfect screenplay and it is this rich writing that already forms an impressive foundation for the show. Each character is written with a lot of courage, empathy and sensitivity. Here, each female character is so well-fleshed out, including those in the periphery, that they all deserve a spin-off of their own.”
“Apart from his masterful storytelling through maximalist aesthetic including the creation of some poetic vignettes where each frame appears to be a stunning piece of oil painting, Bhansali has also earned the affection and admiration of several film connoisseurs for his presentation of elaborate dance sequences. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he has single-handedly kept the tradition of song-and-dance alive in Hindi cinema at a time when realism has been striving to take over. And so, Heeramandi doesn’t disappoint either. Sakal Ban is a gorgeous representation of the beauty and sisterhood that resides in Heeramandi. In fact, each of the woman, has a mujra sequence and all of them are mesmerising pieces,” the review also read.
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