Daily Times

Bollywood’s veteran filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali believes that his passion project ‘Heeramandi’ bridges the gap between India and Pakistan and brings the two nations together.

In a new interview, SLB claimed that Pakistani audiences were waiting as eagerly as viewers in India, for the premiere of his much-anticipated web series ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ and has been sending him immense love, ever since the release.

“It’s a piece that somehow brings us all together when all India was one, it was undivided. These people belong to us as much as they belong to them. I think they belong to both of us and both countries are showing a lot of love for finally the show being made,” he said. Further terming both nations as ‘one’, the veteran added, “There’s a lot of love for people on both sides, leave aside a few people who would want to create issues – but those are not relevant.”

The ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ director also addressed the criticism towards the title and explained, “There are things in the characters that connect to people in my work and that is why they talk about it. It’s a part of a give-and-take with an audience and filmmaker. I don’t mind being loved when they give me love and I don’t mind quite being criticized when they don’t connect to my work.”

Notably, veteran filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much-awaited digital debut ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’, explores the ‘stories of courtesans’ living in the red light district of Lahore, during the pre-independent India.

The eight-episodic web series, starring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sharmin Segal in the main roles, along with Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar and Adhyayan Suman and Taha Shah, premiered on the streaming giant Netflix on May 1.