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Wondered why Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s biggest titles revolve around courtesans? Know what influences Heeramandi director
Some of the biggest movies of Sanjay Leela Bhansali hold a strong influence of courtesans in its narrative. Know the real reason why the filmmaker often puts their stories in the forefront.
After superhits Devdas and Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has brought another story of courtesans to the silver screen. The filmmaker recently directed the 8-episodic Netflix series Heeramandi, which has been released to roaring positive reviews. But what attracts Bhansali towards the life of Tawaifs?
What is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s connection with the courtesans?
In an old interview with Film Companion, Sanjay Leela Bhansali spoke about the real reason why his movies have a shade of courtesans, brothels, and red-light areas. Be it Alia Bhatt’s central character in Gangubai Kathiawadi or Heeramandi in his recently released, be it Chandramukhi in Devdas or Rani Mukerji’s character Gulabji in Saawariya, SLB has been literally obsessed with the life of these divas.
Unknown to many, the filmmaker was raised in a chawl closely situated in Mumbai’s infamous red light area, Kamathipura. He, who saw the lives of those women very closely day and night, shared, “You’re sensitive to what you see as a child.” Sanjay, with tears in his eyes, recalled the women attracting clients for a mere Rs 20. He expressed, “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 or Rs 20, or Rs 50. It is inhuman.”
Sanjay shared that he found tremendous stories in their faces that they never spoke about. “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," Sanjay concluded.
More about Heeramandi
Released on May 1, this period-drama has an ensemble cast including 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.
Set against the backdrop of the pre-Independent era, the series has received a 4/5 rating from Pinkvilla.
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