Rating – **** (4/5)
Welcome to the world of Sanjay Leela Bhansali (SLB)! It surely might not be your first time here having seen all the great films the man has presented over the years but the experience of watching Heeramandi – The Diamond Bazaar is unlike any other. There is just so much to uncover and one review won’t suffice what is at display but I will try my best to be articulate and yet not overwhelm. Well, overwhelm is an emotion that watching any SLB project can do to you, so that might still happen. The world of tawaifs and nawabs, the fight against the British, and the back-and-forth moves of two forces that are hellbent on destroying each other- it is addictive, immersive, engaging and breathtaking, all at the same time, I mean, how can it not be?
The beauty of Heeramandi does lie in the literal sense of things, as you would expect with an SLB presentation but the true beauty of it lies in the deliciously devious web that the filmmaker has crafted through its storytelling. Any series that clocks around 45 minutes on average for each episode – amounting to eight episodes always has the arduous task of being consistently engaging; this becomes a bigger challenge when the said series is a period drama. The era-appropriate costumes, dialogues, and even the language can be challenging to soak in and still be invested in the intended emotion – but somehow, Mr Bhansali has managed to intricately weave the entire screenplay with a fabulous blend of arresting storyline and still not compromising on the authenticity. The nukhtas, the sheer luxury, the looks, the setting and literally everything else are spectacular and you cannot fault that.
Manisha Koirala might have not just delivered her career-best performance but it is the most delicious role I have ever seen a Hindi-language female actor play in any film or show. There are some bamboozling and crazy things that Koirala has had to do as MallikaJaan, which could have easily veered into a laughable stock but the veteran brings the perfect balance of outlandishness and empathy, which is the soul of the show. The likes of Aditi Rao Hydari and Richa Chadha are also in top form given how diversely different their characters are. And then comes Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjeeda Shaikh, and both are an SLB heroine in the purest sense of the word. Especially Shaikh, who has such a broken character to play and she delivers a knockout act. In Bhansali’s world, the men might not have central roles to play (and refreshingly so) but they are always pivotal to the developments in the plotline – and that is no different here as well. All the men ranging from Fardeen Khan to Shekhar Suman and even someone like Jason Shah are great with their given assignments as well.
Heeramandi is impeccable storytelling, and initially, I couldn’t have imagined not being affected by the duration of a show like this. There are subtleties, nuances, and hidden easter eggs brimming across the episodes. The Point A to Point B culmination of the series is so satisfying and fulfilling that you almost want to get up and give it a standing ovation. It seems so fascinating that the game of back-and-forth moves to defeat each other and more so, destroy each other so beautifully becomes irrelevant when it becomes about India’s freedom struggle against the ruling British. Everything that leads to the finale has little nuggets being planted that lead to the big crescendo. Sanjay Leela Bhansali seems to be only getting better with age where after the fabulous Gangubai Kathiawadi, his entry into the world of OTT couldn’t have had a better start than Heeramandi – The Diamond Bazaar.
One of my favorite lines from the show encapsulates the entire show and its essence – ‘ab inka dil toota hai, ab bani hai ye asli tawaif‘ (her heart is now broken, now she has become a real courtesan).
Heeramandi – The Diamond Bazaar is streaming on Netflix.