Sanjay Leela Bhansali reveals Heeramandi, his first web-series, is going to be ambitious and vast

Celebrated filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is known for his extravagant style of storytelling, has completed 25 years as a director. To mark this milestone, Bhansali is collaborating with Netflix for his upcoming web-series, Heeramandi.

The magnum opus is set in the pre-Independence era and will explore the stories of courtesans, the hidden cultural reality of Heeramandi. The series promises to put forward stories of love, betrayal, politics and succession.

In a candid interview for Netflix India’s Tudum Spotlight, the filmmaker opened up on how his close friend, Moin Bag, had brought him Heeramandi's concept as a 14-page story 14 years ago.

"Finally when we presented it to Netflix, they loved it and thought it had great potential to make a mega-series," he said. "It is very ambitious, it’s very big and vast. It tells you the story of courtesans. They kept music, poetry and dance, and the art of living. It shows the politics within the brothels and how to emerge as the winner. It is a difficult one, but I hope we come across with flying colours this time.”

Recalling the moment as a tot when he watched a shoot for the very first time, Bhansali said, "I remember when I was a four-year-old and my father had taken me to a shoot, to watch. He had gone to meet his friends and he said you sit here, I’ll just meet my friends and come. And I was sitting in the studio and I thought that this is the place that seems most comfortable to me, more than school, more than a playground, more than a cousin’s house, or anywhere in the world.

"When I look back at 25 years, I think it's very precious to me because you have to be blessed to be able to get a chance to make a film and that's why I cling on to the studio because the studio floor is the most magical, that's my temple, that's my everything.”

Bhansali made his directorial debut with Khamoshi (1996) and followed up with successful movies like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Devdas (2002), Black (2005), Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Bajirao Mastani (2015).

The director is awaiting the theatrical release of another anticipated project, Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Alia Bhatt. The film's final schedule was wrapped up in June two long years after it had gone on the floors. Earlier there were unconfirmed reports that the film would be released directly online, but producer Jayantilal Gada denied all such claims.