Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur lauded Sanjay Leela Bhansali's recently-released web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar and said he watched the show in one go. The filmmaker also praised Manisha Koirala, who is seen as Mallikajaan in the series.
Taking to his official X account on Monday (May 6), Shekhar wrote, "Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s cinematic art is so seductive. He pulls you into his world and mesmerises you. His images stayed with me long after I binge watched the whole of #Heeramandi in one go.. and what an effective performance by Monisha Koirala @mkoirala."
However, it looks like he also took a dig at streaming giant Netflix in his post. For those unversed, Heeramandi started streaming on Netflix from May 1. The show, shot in grand sets, features huge courtyards and mahals. According to media reports, the production scale of Heeramandi has matched its narrative as it has been made on a budget of nearly Rs 200 crore.
"Finally #Netflix is giving Indian filmmakers budgets they deserve," Shekhar added in his post. Take a look:
In an interview in 2023, the filmmaker had called OTT platforms like Netflix and Prime Video 'gatekeepers on video content'. "Now Amazon and Netflix are the new gatekeepers, because now they are going to decide who they are going to pick. Before that there were the studios, before that they were the big producers... We are now heading towards a world where the crowd will decide what is good or not and gatekeepers will go," Shekhar had reportedly said.
Soon after the filmmaker shared the post, a section of social media users said they don't agree with his review as the show failed to lived up to their expectations. While some are in awe of the grandeur of Bhansali's debut show, others slammed the director for not showing the real Heera Mandi. Several errors have also been pointed out by netizens.
The eight-episode series is set in Lahore in pre-independence era. Heeramandi was officially announced by the makers in 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
It shows a world where courtesans were once queens and reveals the untold stories of Lahore's red light district, Heera Mandi. Besides Manisha Koirala, Heeramandi also features Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Taha Shah Badussha, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, Jason Shah and others.
