Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Heeramandi” has just premiered on Netflix, and we’re here to bring you up to speed with our review of the first episode! Read on below.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “passion project” nurtured over an impressive 14-year period, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar epic saga unfolds against the backdrop of Heeramandi, Lahore, a bustling red-light district predating the Partition of the Indian subcontinent.
Heeramandi’, an 8 part web series, initially conceptualized as a film, dives deep into – love, betrayal, power plays, and political drama, all set against the vibrant backdrop of kothas, the secret world of courtesans. The series boasts a stellar cast including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman.
Bhansali is known for his lavish visuals in films like “Devdas,” “Padmaavat,” “Bajirao Mastani” and “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” and the “Heeramandi” trailer is in keeping with that. The conception and news of this Bollywood maestro’s series was in itself a fantasy for us Sanjay Leela Bhansali fans.
First Episode Full Of Disappointments
When we first heard about it, we imagined being immersed in old-school glamour, decadence, vintage fashion, powerful performances, dreamy grandiose sets, and music that would instantly transport us to the bygone eras of pre-partition. Fast forward to last night when we finally couldn’t believe we would get to watch the show that had us excited for quite a long time. Well…
It was as if our hopes were sky-high, and as we watched the first episode, we nervously kept telling ourselves, ‘Oh no, wait, here comes the best part, here comes the moment that will leave us gobsmacked.’ But the joke was on us because we kept waiting until the end of Episode 1. And then we stopped because, let’s be realistic, as much as we wanted to continue, the not-so-binge-worthy start of the first episode, coupled with the demands of adulting, didn’t leave us with much of a choice.
Yes, the sets bear SLB’s signature—grand, lavish, and seriously intricate. We loved the visuals and picturization, but the OTT platform and the majority of the acting, storyline, performances, and plot don’t do justice to the amount of effort put into the visuals. The main issue: the acting chops were seriously disappointing—except for Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Farida Jalal, and Sanjeeda Sheikh, the rest of the main cast seemed like mere acting novices.
Acting Chops, Characters & What Was Amiss
Manisha Koirala’s character, Malika, is ruthless, almost frighteningly so, and she does complete justice to it. However, we were left confused as to why…which, we think, can be blamed on the storyline. Aditi Rao Hydari’s Bibbojaan is a character of a subdued, mellow courtesan who is also a freedom fighter in hiding, and she balances the two well. Sanjeeda Sheikh also portrays the cunning, scheming courtesan effectively, but something still felt amiss. Then again, these characters too needed a deeper dive into the writing aspect. The moments that didn’t leave us unsatisfied and confused were Farida Jalal’s as Dadi to Tajdar Baloch, who has just returned from England, a Nawab in the making.
And now let’s talk about, the integral character of Alamzeb around whose love story the series revolves around, which interestingly is played by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s niece Sharmin Segal. She is robotic, not dreamy, always stares into the opposite direction and has expressions that seem to not have the ability to budge. Her below par acting considering she’s the main character makes it worse. If he had to promote nepotism, he might as well have casted the talented nepos. We would have liked that better. Sharmin had only one expression throughout the movie, be it happy, sad, crying, laughing – there was only only one expression.
A total miscast, wish they could have casted somebody more deserving considering she had so much screen time. Deepika, Alia, Kareena, Priyanka you were very dearly missed. As much as we don’t like it somethings need established bollywood actors.
We would even say Tajdar was uncomfortable to watch, we would have liked to see an actor with more depth to play this character.
Well, Alamzeb’s first interaction with her love interest Tajdar was… something. Definitely not reminiscent of old-school, vintage, poetic, dreamy love. Nope. It was bland, awkward, and, to be honest, just very questionable, as he quickly veered into being almost inappropriate. Alamzeb’s reactions and expressions to his advances only added to the discomfort, leaving us viewers perplexed and frustrated.
The Underwhelming Music, Mujras & Depiction Of The Lives Of Courtesans.
When we think of Mujras, we envision “Umrao Jaan,” with its great music and graceful, delicate swirling dances that leave you swooning as magic unfolds on screen. However, even the first song and dance in the episode were shockingly underwhelming. The moves felt stale, sluggish, and not up to par with Bollywood’s level of dance expertise. Additionally, the lyrical value was almost zero. It felt like a wasted opportunity, especially considering the known importance and impact of the dance, music in the lives of the courtesans.
Yes, the inspiration behind “Heeramandi” is undoubtedly rich, but the storytelling itself falls short. It left us wondering if we had even fully grasped the storyline. There was a lack of nuance in the storytelling, the scheming, and the foreshadowing. Moreover, there was no hook at the end to keep us engaged.
Despite a few commendable performances, they weren’t sufficient to captivate us in what we had hoped would be a glamorous and enchanting series. Heeramandi is seemingly a lot of aesthetics with very little to no substance.
Here are some audience reactions that echo the same sentiments as ours!
He Clearly Didn’t Get His Dream Cast!
Delusional & Expensive
Wasted Efforts & Wasted Potential
A Storyline Keeping You Clueless
Are you still planning on binge watching the series?
