Sonakshi Sinha in a still from the song. (courtesy: YouTube)
Sonakshi Sinha and the cast of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi were recently in conversation with NDTV. Sonakshi Sinha, during the interaction with NDTV, brought her Heeramandi character Fareedan to life as she danced to the tunes of the song Tilasmi Bahein. The actress shared an anecdote from the making of the track and told NDTV, "It was shot in one take." When Richa Chadha asked Sonakshi, "Were you actually drunk for that, the actress replied, "Not a drop." She added, "Tum logon ko yakeen nahi horaha hai mai itni achhi actor hoon (You guys can't believe that I am a good actor)."
Sharing an anecdote from the making of the track, Sonakshi told NDTV, "I still don't event know how to narrate this entire experience because I still can't believe that it happened. So I rehearsed a couple of days before the choreography of the song that it was supposed to be. I have landed up on set after rehearsing. We've shot till about 3 PM, done the hook steps that were taught. Kruti Mahesh choregraphed the song beautifully and suddenly Sanjay Sir said, 'You know what, I don't want to do this' and he scrapped the whole thing on the set that day."
Sonakshi added, "He was calling the ADs, making them dance in front of him, just for inspiration of what all can be used. One guy was dancing like Salman Khan. One guy was dancing like he has been electrocuted with wire. And then he just kept on watching them and I just thought he is entertaining himself. Cut to 7, he says, 'over here you do this then get to the table and you do the junglee dance so well so just do that on the table and the you go and catch the hoot step.' It was decided there and then."
About the track - Tilasmi Bahein presented and composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, has been sung by Sharmistha Chatterjee. The lyrics are by AM Turaz and it has been choreographed by Kruti Mahesh.
Heeramandi has a stellar ensemble cast that includes Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal and Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Adhyayan Suman, Shekhar Suman and Taha Shah Badussha. Heeramandi will showcase the lives of courtesans, set against the backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s. The series can be summed up as an epic saga of love, power, revenge, and freedom. The series, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, released today on Netflix.