Heeramandi Review: The courtesans of Hiramandi can be seen leaving the mujra and fighting in the freedom struggle. This story of characters amidst wonderful music will be remembered for years.
Web Series: Hiramandi: The Diamond Bazaar
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Sehgal, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, Taha Shah, Fardeen Khan
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
‘We punish the soul, not the body.’ ‘A woman does not become a courtesan, she has to learn all the skills of the day and the night.’ ‘There is no line between love and revolution.’ There is no difference.’ These are dialogues from Hiramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. From these dialogues it can be guessed how Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s dream project Heeramandi will be. Hiramandi, full of brilliant starcast, actors, beautiful sets, heavy but powerful dialogues, can be watched on Netflix from today. Read this review before watching this eight-episode series.
Hiramandi
Before watching Heeramandi, be patient enough that the first episode with the introduction of the characters does not seem burdensome to you. Once you become a part of the story, you will not be able to leave this series midway. Firstly, the luxurious sets of Hiramandi, the dialogues of the characters spoken in clear Urdu language, the costumes and on top of that, so many amazingly beautiful actresses. Great series.
Character introduction
In this web series, the biggest courtesan of Hiramandi Bazaar is Rihanna Begum, whose character is played by Sonakshi Sinha. A character after seeing whom all the courtesans in the market get scared. In the next episode of the story, this biggest role is handled by Mallikajan i.e. Manisha Koirala. Why and how such a big change occurs in the story is a part of the spoiler which we do not want to tell you. In the roles of mother, sister and daughter, these courtesans seem to outweigh each other. Everyone’s character has some specialty which helps in taking the story forward. It has the flavor of Nawabs on it. Shekhar Suman in the role of Nawab Zulfikar and Fardeen Khan in the role of Nawab Wali Mohammad do wonders.
Story
The story of Hiramandi is a war between two courtesans. These two courtesans from the same family create their own environment with their family and other courtesans in the market. There is no sympathy for the daughters in the mother’s heart. Mallikajan, a merciless mother, first wants to make her daughters the pride of the house and her sisters as maids of the house. You will hate this character of Mallikjaan in some scenes. But this is the specialty of Hiramandi, there is hatred but loyalty is more than that. Because of this loyalty, the humiliating life given by Mallikajan also seems good.
Specialty
The specialty of Heeramandi is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s direction, vision, dialogues and strong performance. Attention has been given to every single scene. You will see this detail in the work of Sanjay Leela Bhansali as to how a tawaif’s expression should be after the hair appears on her face. An attempt has been made to give a different story to each character. It may be difficult for the audience to decide whose character among so many actresses they liked more. Grand set, this is the usage of Urdu language. Cinematography, background music, Punjabi speaking royal servants, luxurious houses, everything is fantastic. The last scene and music give goosebumps.
Performance
Sonakshi Sinha is an important link in this series, whose character is full of suspense. Telling more about this character would be a spoiler. Mallikajan Manisha Koirala’s character seems to change with the episodes. The hatred towards him in the initial episodes later turns into kindness and love. Richa Chadha shines in her small role. The expectation of seeing him more in such characters has increased. Sharmin Sehgal’s character seems cumbersome at some places. Don’t like his forced expressions. The actress who surprises and delights with her performance in this series is Sanjeeda Shaikh. The actress is seen in the character of Waheeda who maintains her loyalty along with hostility. Sanjeeda does wonders in every scene and dialogue. Aditi Rao Hydari fights for freedom from the courtesan. Everyone else appeared to be Nawabs. Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman and Taha Shah.
Shortcomings
Heeramandi is a long story that needs patience and more time to watch and get hooked to the story. Some heavy dialogues may not seem necessary according to the scene. The attempt to make every scene royal seems wasteful at some places. Amidst the fight between two courtesans, suddenly slogans of Inquilab Zindabad and Azadi start. Two stories run together. There is difficulty in digesting the love that suddenly develops in the hearts of enemies. An attempt has been made to decorate every scene with grand, royal and heavy Urdu dialogues which was not needed. Some unnecessary scenes could have been cut which would have made the episode of over 1 hour a little shorter.
Must watch
If you have been liking Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s work then these shortcomings can be ignored. This series will be remembered for years. The hard work of the director, actors and writers can be clearly seen. After watching you will understand why it took so much time to make this series and deliver it to the audience.
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