"To be part of something like this is tremendous."
Sonakshi Sinha revealed how she got cast in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
The series was created by Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and is set to premiere on Netflix in 2024.
Bhansali produced the film Rowdy Rathore (2012), which starred Sonakshi.
The actress said that she and Bhansali had been trying to collaborate on multiple occasions over the years.
She explained: “[Bhansali] has been very encouraging. We tried to work together but it didn’t work out, and we were always in touch.
“Every time I went to his office, we would chat over coffee.
“I was like, ‘Sir, every time I come to your office, we have coffee and then I leave. I’m not having coffee with you, I will have tea’.
“I had tea [and] we had the same sort of conversation and I went home.
“And then, I am in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. So, tea is the answer guys, not coffee.”
The upcoming series is set during India’s struggle for independence during the British Raj.
It focuses on courtesans living in the Red Light District in Heeramandi, Lahore.
Sonakshi Sinha – who plays Fareedan in the show – went on to discuss her admiration for Bhansali’s depiction of women in the content that he creates:
“Sanjay sir and I have been trying to collaborate for many years and I’m glad it happened with Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
“The way he portrays his women on screen, nobody is able to do that.
“He has got a very different vision for it in spite of it being all magnum opus.
“He takes good care of how his female characters are portrayed on screen, and that’s something I appreciate about him.
“In Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, we have six different women with six different stories to tell, and each one has been important.
“So, to be part of something like this is tremendous.
“The fact that we are going global with Netflix, being able to reach out to so many people, this is something that everybody should be able to watch. I’m so glad to be a part of it.”
Sonakshi also recalled how the experience positively affected her as an actress.
She said: “I walked away as a more patient and resilient actor.
“That’s a good thing, and good things take time and greater things take more time.
“To be a part of something like this does require a lot of patience. I know I do my job well.
“Here, you have to mould yourself along with what has been created in front of you, the process of completely surrendering and if you are not able to do that, then you cannot be part of something like this.
“I think I walked away as a much stronger actor after Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
“Every actor craves to be challenged. I’ve grown and learnt through experiences.
“I’ve started from scratch. I had no experience of being on a film set, and I used to not visit my dad’s sets when I was a child.
“I had no training in acting or dancing, I was not groomed for it. I was thrown into the deep end of the pool and told, ‘swim’.
“That’s how I learnt things. Every experience for me was something that I cherish because I learnt a lot from every person I worked with.
“It has got me to the point where Sanjay Leela Bhansali has confidence in me to offer me a role like Fareedan, who is very complex.
“I’ve been working for 14 years and I’ve done all sorts of roles.
“I started off with commercial masala films where it was always about the hero, which I’m not complaining about, as it gave me an audience and wide reach.
“It gave me the confidence to shoulder films on my own.”
“That’s when I started playing strong women characters, which were different from the others, like Akira or Noor or Khandani Shafakhana or Dahaad, I consciously chose roles that I’ve not played before.
“That pushed and challenged me as an actor.”
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is Bhansali’s second foray into fictional television.
He produced and directed Saraswatichandra from 2013 to 2014.
Along with Sonakshi Sinha, the series also stars Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sharmin Segal.
Watch the 1st look of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar
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