Sonakshi Sinha talks about essaying Lahore's courtesan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Heeramandi'

During FICCI Frames 2024, Sonakshi Sinha shared a delightful anecdote about her casting in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming OTT show Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, attributing it to a change in her beverage preference.

Sonakshi, portraying Fareedan in the drama about Lahore's Red Light District, expressed admiration for the filmmaker's depiction of women on screen. "Sanjay sir and I have been trying to collaborate for many years, and I’m glad it happened with Heeramandi. The way he portrays his women on screen, nobody is able to do that."

She emphasised Sanjay's unique vision and care for female characters, stating, "He has got a very different vision for it in spite of it being all magnum opus. He takes good care of how his female characters are portrayed on screen, and that’s something I appreciate about him.”

Regarding Heeramandi, a Netflix series featuring several female stars, Sonakshi praised Sanjay for giving equal importance to all the characters, making it a tremendous project to be a part of. “In Heeramandi, we have six different women with six different stories to tell, and each one has importance. So, to be part of something like this is tremendous. The fact that we are going global with Netflix, being able to reach out to so many people, is something that everybody should be able to watch. I’m so glad to be a part of it.”

Having worked with the Black director, Sonakshi stated that she emerged as a more patient and resilient actor. “I walked away as a more patient and resilient actor. That’s a good thing, and good things take time and greater things take more time. To be a part of something like this does require a lot of patience. I think I walked away as a much stronger actor after Heeramandi.”

Expressing her desire to be challenged as an actor at this stage of her career, Sonakshi thanked the celebrated filmmaker for having confidence in her. “Every actor craves to be challenged. I’ve grown and learnt through experiences. I’ve started from scratch. Every experience for me was something that I cherish because I learnt a lot from every person I worked with. It has got me to the point where Sanjay Leela Bhansali has confidence in me to offer me a role like Fareedan, who is very complex.”

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