One word that has been synonymous with the films of Sanjay Leela Bhansali is Grandeur. The man knows how to captivate the audience with his sets, costumes and overall magnanimity.
Heeramandi is one scale elevated from that. The man has done the shock factor so right that you will be left in awe of the dazzling visuals. There are direct inspirations from Paakeezah’s “Bazaar-E-Husn” set that was used to shoot the path-breaking and canonical song “Inhin Logon Ne Le Lina Dupatta Mera”.
The full series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar” is now streaming. People are watching the series and they are loving the overall awe factor. However, they can’t help but ignore the lack of a story that could be so so deep. Even in terms of performance, it is all and all a Manisha Koirala show. She is downright dominating the show and it is precisely what is expected from an actress of her calibre.
However, Bhansali is not a set designer or cinematographer per se. He is a director and one of the finest directors of our time. He is also a writer and one of the best writers of his time. The dialogues and overall screenplay should have been far superior to what we have gotten in Heeramandi.
The public reactions are also the same. People are in awe of the visuals but have complaints regarding the story. Overall, Heeramandi has emerged as a really good series but nothing extraordinary like the films of Bhansali.