Heera Mandi: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's dream project goes on floors

Bollywood's ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has huge projects lined up. The popular director has recently wrapped up the shooting of his Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Khatiawadi, but that doesn't call for a break. Bhansali has reportedly now started his schedule for his dream project, Heera Mandi, reported Filmfare.

The web series, which will be based on the infamous locale, will be a grand project. The Gangubai Kathiawadi sets will be modified for the shoot of Heera Mandi. While Bhansali will not be donning the director's hat for the much-awaited series, he is producing it.

"It wasn't easy to complete Gangubai Kathiawadi, especially in the last leg. The new mutant (Delta) of Covid in Maharashtra has infused a lot of scare in the film and TV industry. While a few restarts and beginnings have been made, we can only hope that they will sustain; one single case in a unit throws everything out of gear," a source told ETimes about the new development.

While there has been no official confirmation on this, it is rumoured that actors Sonakshi Sinha, Huma Qureshi, Nimrat Kaur, Sayani Gupta and Manisha Koirala will be acting in the show. Earlier, it was reported that the show will star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and Madhuri Dixit-Nene in the lead roles.

It was speculated that Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi and Heera Mandi were the same projects. But while both the projects are women-oriented, they are two different scripts. Heera Mandi deals with the hidden cultures of the red-light area in the walled city of Lahore. On the other hand, Gangubai Kathiawadi is the story of the Madam of Kamathipura.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.