Famous filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has teamed up with Netflix for an upcoming project called, Heeramandi. The name of the project is based on the red light district area of Lahore. The movie is said to be based on the courtesans of Lahore and their lives. The movie is most probably set in the pre-independence era when India was undivided.
Netflix released the first look of the movie through the official Twitter handle of Netflix India, with the caption, ” Another time, another era, another magical world created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali that we can’t wait to be a part of. Here is a glimpse into the beautiful world of #Heeramandi Coming soon!”
Another time, another era, another magical world created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali that we can’t wait to be a part of. Here is a glimpse into the beautiful world of #Heeramandi 💫
Coming soon! pic.twitter.com/tv729JHXOE
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) February 18, 2023
The first look of the movie also reveals the cast of the movie, the project stars Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari and Richa Chadha. The teaser video starts with the line “Sanjay Leela Bhansali invites you to the world where courtesans were queens”. Netflix also shared the teaser video on its official Instagram handle with the same caption as Tweet.
This is not the first time that Bollywood is making movies based on the life of prostitutes, earlier movies like Gangubai Kathiawadi, Mughal-E-AAzam, Umrao Jaan etc. The big screens glamourize the lives of these courtesans, however in reality their lives were very dark. They have been exploited, abused and forced into prostitution. They were never accepted by the society and were constantly viewed as anti-social elements. Many of these tawaifs were part part of the Mughal courts and over the years through books and movies, they have been glamourized as some women who had agency over men and even took part in political discourse.
