Cast: Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Fardeen Khan, Farida Jalal, Shekhar Suman
Creator: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Streaming On: Netflix
Language: Hindi/Urdu
Runtime: 8 Episodes of 45 – 50 minutes each
A few weeks ago, Sanjay Leela Bhansali introduced us to the world of Heeramandi. Six dancing queens and their stories while they together ruled a mohalla in Lahore. They called themselves the queens of Lahore, and the Britishers were somehow terrified since they had the Nawabs under their thumbs! All of this was introduced when the trailer of the series was dropped, and it made me a little nervous.
Wondering why? Because Bhansali is a man of dreams. He is a creator par excellence who actually weaves dreams God-level. But there was a problem with his latest web series; it was hinting at breaking the dreamy world and entering the reality where India was fighting for its independence.
So, did Heeramandi make a successful transition from the dream to reality? Read about it in our review of this web series, which was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar Review: What’s It About:
Heeramandi is a mohalla that is ruled by a bunch of Mujrewalis, all of whom belong to the same family. All of these woman have their insecurities and strengths, and they fight with each other to excel and rule the same world. Some of them probably wanted to rule the Kotha as the ‘Huzoor’ of the Shahi Mahal, and others wanted to live a normal life, wanting to be wives of their Sahabs – the Nawabs ruling the area.
How do these bunch of ‘tawaifs’ find themselves amidst the freedom struggle, and how do they shatter the gem-studded walls of their kothas to turn ‘Mulkwalis’ from ‘Mujrewalis’ is what forms the premise for this web series.
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar Review: What Works:
Right from the first shot, we enter Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magical world. Grand sets, glittering costumes, and decked-up women looking like dreams. Unlike any other Bhansali film, this web series starts straight with the most important scene of the story without establishing characters, making the audience enjoy the grandeur without paying attention to what the characters are about.
Heeramandi, from the word go, starts introducing its characters, and their stories are broken into eight episodes, each episode introducing a character’s story. But this note ends right here because this is the only part that works for this almost 7-hour-long web series. Beyond this point, nothing works for this web series!
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar Review: Star Performance:
The web series is a star-studded one. Right from cold-looking Manisha Koirala to the fiery Richa Chaddha. From coy Aditi Rao Hydari to the pious and innocent Sharmin Sehgal. From the evil-looking Sanjeeda Sheikh to the always-plotting Sonakshi Sinha. Does any one of them shine? No! Do all of them shine? No! Do all of them get their one epic moment in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s world? No! Then, do they just keep performing dances according to their characters in the series? No! So are they just decked up as Mujrewaalis? Yes!
All these powerful women who have ruled their particular mediums of art and genres coming together should have been an iconic explosion of moments you should have failed to count on-screen! But sadly, Bhansali’s confused screenplay keeps these women confused throughout. They just don’t know what they have to do with their versions of ‘Jaan.’
Despite getting each episode on their names – Mallika Jaan, Bibbo Jaan, Waheedajaan, Fareedanjaan, and so on, none of them get a single moment to steal the thunder, make their mark, or just shine!
We are not even starting to talk about the men of Heeramandi since they actually do not exist except for Taha Shah, who comes out as the most important man from Heeramandi! He tries to believe in what he is doing, and you may want to know more about him!
Only Two Performances Grab Attention
Only two performances grab attention in this entire series: Indresh Malik shining as Ustaadji and Pratibha Ranta as Shama in whatever chunk they get to perform!
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar Review: What Doesn’t Work:
We cannot even get started about what doesn’t work for Heeramandi. Firstly, the entire series does not find a storyline and seems confused about what path it is to follow. Even after watching the entire series for about 7 – 8 hours, if you ask me what this story is about, I am not sure if I can help you with this query.
Heeramandi starts with a story about two sisters at war, one of them challenging the other to beat her at being the best tawaif. It then translates into a bunch of women and their relationship with Nawabs, whom they call their Sahibs, their emotional struggles falling in love but never getting a chance to fulfill that love. Then it turns into the story of a young girl, born and brought up in Kotha but has professional aspirations other than being a Tawaif. She dares to dream differently. The story again goes back to the two warring sisters and the vengeance track suddenly turning into a freedom struggle. In all, it is like that studying you did one night before the board exams. Just turning pages from one chapter to another but probably not understanding a word till you decide to just muggle it up and blabber in your answer sheets! Yes, that is exactly what Heeramandi does. Also majorly, it turns into a love story of a girl from a Kotha and a Nawab.
The other problem with this series is the bunch of Mujrewalis who actually are not dancing properly. Imagine wasting an opportunity to bring songs and dances of Mughal-E-Azam’s and Umraao Jaan’s level. That is what one expects from Bhansali‘s world and these grand sets. But you would not remember a single dance or song, for that matter! Except for the climax song, Azaadi, which honestly does not have any referential value to the story either!
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar Review: Last Words:
The major problem with Heeramandi is the cluttered thoughts of freedom and confusing it with the freedom struggle. We understand that these women definitely want freedom, but the story never portrays it until the fifth or sixth episode. Honestly, it is only one woman who seems to want freedom, and the rest of them just follow her cues and aspirations, making it their own! And even then, it did not make any sense to make her fight for freedom when all she wanted was freedom for herself. At this point, I just want freedom from such pseudo-shows that take up a glorified thought and abuse it without any core reason or motive of urgency!
1 star!
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