Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s grand Netflix show Heeramandi is being headlined by Manisha Koirala. Set in the 1940s, Heeramandi shows the lives of courtesans from Lahore’s eponymous neighbourhood amid the Indian freedom struggle. Manisha plays Mallikajaan, the ageing courtesan who rules Heeramandi. In an exclusive conversation with DNA ahead of the show’s release, the actress opens up on reuniting with Bhansali after 28 years, why she said yes to Heeramandi, and more.

Manisha starred in Bhansali’s debut directorial Khamoshi, which was released way back in 1996. Talking about reuniting with Bhansali, she says, “His passion for cinema is unchanged, his genius is unchanged. Heeramandi and Khamoshi are so different from each other but his approach to storytelling remains honest and passionate.”
Like Manisha mentions, Heeramandi is Bhansali’s magnum opus, possibly the most expensive web series ever made in India. “When you see that your filmmaker has put in so much effort, it becomes your responsibility to match up to that, level up your dedication,” says Manisha when talking about the show’s scale.

 At the heart of the grandeur are the extravagant sets of Heeramandi, where Bhansali has recreated the famous neighbourhood in his own grand manner. Recalling her first experience of witnessing that grandeur, Manisha says, “I requested Sanjay to see the set because I wanted to immerse myself in Mallikajaan’s world. When I first saw the set, I was taken aback. I became so nervous because it hit me that I am going to be part of this. I wondered how I will do it. I was there for a few hours when Sanjay was setting up a shot. I was so nervous that Sanjay asked me to go home because he wanted me looking fresh for the shoot the next day. I couldn’t tell him that I was shaking because I was so much in awe of the whole environment.”

Manisha says she intentionally stayed away from watching other works in this genre or other portrayals of courtesans in Indian cinema. “If I want to create something that has never been done before, I need to have that disconnect. I didn’t watch anything in this genre and just followed the script, while adding from my instinct. You pick up some incidents from your life and you reposition them in scenes where you feel they make sense. As a artiste, you are constantly looking for that element to bring into your performance,” says the actress.

Heeramandi also stars Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Sehgal, and Sanjeeda Sheikh. It will premiere on Netflix on May 1.