Aditi Rao Hydari in Heeramandi. (courtesy: YouTube)
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is making all the right noises. Fans, critics, and even celebrities are showering love on the project, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The Netflix show features Aditi Rao Hydari in the role of Bibbojaan, a courtesan in the pre-independence Indian era. Now, Aditi's fiance, actor Siddharth, has shared his review. In his Instagram Stories, Siddharth shared a still from Heeramandi, in which Aditi's character is performing mujra. In his review, the actor wrote, “Acting (star emoji) Music (star emoji) Aesthetic (star emoji) Drama (star emoji) Grateful that we are living in the age of Sanjay Leela Bhansali Saab.”
He continued, “#Heeramandi a letter of love and freedom told in the confines of a bygone age with images that mesmerise the heart music and verse that stir the soul. A work of art that would make K Asif Saab proud. Love and congratulations to the whole team. Now streaming on Netflix.”
Ahead of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar's release, Aditi Rao Hydari opened up about how Sanjay Leela Bhansali once kept her hungry to attain a perfect scene. In a chat with Rediff.com, the actress said, “One day, Sanjay sir kept me hungry because I had to do a scene which was full of fire. He said, 'Aaj khana mat khana [Don't eat today]', and that helped me get that simmering sense of injustice.”
In his NDTV review, Saibal Chatterjee gave Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar 3 out of 5 stars. He wrote, “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar sustains its spotlight on the women even as it liberally sprinkles its sweeping, overflowing canvas with intimate moments of love, jealousy, deceit and rebellion and with unfolding processions, street clashes and cases of custodial torture that leave a trail of blood and unspeakable horrors.”
“At once seductive and sad, poignant and prevailing, the tawaifs dwell in the heart of Lahore but are doomed to languish as dispensable objects of fancy on the fringes of a society controlled by nawabs on the brink of oblivion and ruthless British officials desperately clinging on to their authority on an increasingly restless colonised people,” Saibal Chatterjee added.
In addition to Aditi Rao Hydari, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar features Sonakshi Sinha, Sharmin Segal, Manisha Koirala, Sanjeeda Sheikh, and Richa Chadha in prominent roles.