Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his films like Devdas, Bajirao Mastani, and Padmaavat. He has now collaborated with Netflix for his pre-Independence set series Heeramandi. 

The story is set to explore the hidden cultural reality of courtesans in Heeramandi which was a dazzling district in Lahore, in pre-Independent India.

Recently, according to a report, Sanjay Leela Bhansali was planning to cast Rekha for a key part in the series but now he has dropped the idea. And as per a report by Bollywood Hungama, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is now considering Aishwarya Rai for the role. 

According to Bollywood Hungama, a source said, “It is believed Rekha has become difficult to direct over the years. Bhansali’s enthusiasm to sign Rekha was considerably dampened by her treatment of director Abhishek Kapoor during the making of Fitoor when Rekha had to be dropped overnight and replaced by Tabu. Rather than face such problems, Sanjay has dropped the idea of casting Rekha and may opt for Aishwarya instead.”

The series is about love, betrayal, succession, and politics that goes around in the ‘Kothas’ and the series will have opulent and larger-than-life sets, a lot of characters, and great music.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali also said that Heermandi is an important milestone in the filmmaker’s journey.

Earlier, Alia Bhatt had said she was so excited about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming project that she expressed her desire to work on the project for free.

She said, “Give me a role, any role, in Heera Mandi and I will do it for free,” these were her apparent words to the filmmaker on the recent development of the series. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali made his directorial debut with Khamoshi: The Musical in 1996 and now he has completed 25 long years in the industry.

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