Heeramandi: Sanjay Leela Bhansali to co-direct and compose all songs for the Netflix series

Sanjay Leela Bhansali can now concentrate solely on Heeramandi, with Gangubai Kathiawadi behind him. Mitakshara Kumar, who worked as his assistant director on Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018) before directing The Empire (2021), will share directorial duties on the eight-episode web series. As per the latest reports in Mid Day, there's a promise of opulent tunes where Bhansali is present. The same may be said about Netflix's selection.

A source told the tabloid that Bhansali will direct the first two episodes, while Mitakshara will handle the remaining episodes. The filmmaker, on the other hand, has taken on the job of directing each song, owing to his unrivaled way of presenting dance numbers. Each episode will feature a song in his usual grandiose style. The compositions are finished.

The period drama is said to star Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadha, Nimrat Kaur, and Sayani Gupta and depicts the stories of love, betrayal, and politics in the lives of the courtesans.

The insider shared with the tabloid that Bhansali will begin filming in the first week of May. The set is erected on the same ground where Gangubai Kathiawadi was shot in Film City.

Earlier, in a statement, while talking about Heeramandi, Bhansali had said that the series was a significant turning point in his career as a filmmaker. This is an enormous, first-of-its-kind series about Lahore's courtesans. It's an ambitious, huge, and all-encompassing series, so he's both nervous and delighted about putting it together. The ace filmmaker is looking forward to collaborating with Netflix and bringing Heeramandi to a global audience.

Bhansali also told Variety that the series is a massive narrative about Lahore's courtesans, and it's something he has been living with for the past 14 years. He called Heeramandi, "vast and ambitious."