As Gangubai Khatiawadi is waiting to be released next year, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has already moved to his next project, Heeramandi. It has been one of the most talked-about ventures in the B-Town and the filmmaker has begun casting for the web series. Yesteryear actress Mumtaz name has cropped up related to the web series.
SLB’s web series will be released on Netflix which will explore stories of courtesans, the hidden cultural reality of Heeramandi, a district in Lahore in pre-Independence India. It will also have all the trademarks of a Bhansali film.
As per the Bollywood Hungama report, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had approached the yesteryear actress Mumtaz for an important role but she declined the offer. The report quoted a source as saying, “A huge fan of the iconic actress, who regaled us in many blockbusters in the 1960 and 1970s, SLB had approached her, but she is in no mood for a comeback. She has said no to an offer to play a prominent part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s lavish costume drama, Heeramandi, for Netflix.”
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The source further informed that the veteran actress was offered a pivotal role that required her to perform an elaborate Mujra dance. However, the actress turned down the role citing that her husband would not like her dancing at her age.
As for Heeramandi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali will be developing the web series exclusively for Netflix will have 7 episodes of one hour each in the first season. If reports are to be believed, the first few episodes will be helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the rest of the episodes will also be directed by his assistant Vibhu Puri.
Previously, the filmmaker had issued a statement that read, “Heeramandi is an important milestone in my journey as a filmmaker. This is an epic, first of its kind series based on the courtesans of Lahore. It is an ambitious, grand and all-encompassing series; therefore I am nervous yet excited about making it. I am looking forward to my partnership with Netflix and bringing Heeramandi to audiences all over the world.”