Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a renowned filmmaker who has always captivated the audience with his marvelous cinema. His debut web show, “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar,” recently released on Netflix, is an excellent example of his prowess. The 8-episode series is receiving a lot of love from viewers who are enchanted by the spellbinding world created by SLB. The show is adorned with massive sets, stunning visuals, mesmerizing dialogues, brilliant cinematography, and remarkable music. It is a testament to SLB’s skills as a director who can showcase Indian content in a truly Indian way. As much as the filmmaker is a master of weaving emotions on the screen, he is also fondly remembering his father Navin Bhansali’s last wish of listening to the song “Hayo Rabba.”
When Navin Bhansali, the father of SLB (a producer who never achieved success), was on his deathbed, he made a unique request of his son. Navin asked SLB to bring him a cassette of a tribal singer who, after India was partitioned, had ended up on the other side of the border, where their own family had roots.
He wanted to hear the song “Hayo Rabba” by Reshma — a voice raw, untrained.
By the time young Sanjay returned with the cassette, his father was unconscious. He stood there watching his dilated eyes — a scene that still plays out in his mind.
“He had gone into a coma,” Mr. Bhansali said. “I had no place to play ‘Hayo Rabba,’ and my mother kept saying, ‘Play “Hayo Rabba”!'”
Why that song? The closest he comes to an answer is that in his father’s state of hallucination, he was connecting with his ancestors.
“Life is so fascinating,” he said. “Can films ever capture this?”
Helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar” is an eight-part series released across 190 countries on Netflix on May 1st.
