Heeramandi: A treat for the senses
From Amir Khusrau’s haunting Sakal Ban Phool Rahi Sarson to the fragrance of Firdaus-e-Jannat, to the whispers of change and courage to stand up to the British Raj, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (Netflix) glitters like a diamond. The series is a tad long but awe-inspiring in attention to recreating a period drama. Heeramandi is the first OTT offering from the master of grandeur, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has proved his mettle with films like Devdas, Bajirao Mastani, Gangubai Kathiavadi. Based on the lives of the “infamous” courtesans of Heeramandi’s red light district in the 1920s pre-partition Lahore (Pakistan), this is reportedly India’s most expensive web series. I binge-watched the rhapsodic series, filling my eyes with the bustling lanes of Lahore into the alluring salons of talented courtesans, who were integral to the pleasure-seeking, decadent Nawabi lifestyle of the times.
An overdose of yesteryear charm
Although SLB took 14 years to make Heeramandi since he first envisaged it, this eight-part series leaves no stone unturned in showcasing feminine charms, beauty, charisma, classical Hindustani dance, disarming Urdu couplets, ghazal, thumri, and the carefully cultivated art of seduction. The dialogues, expressions, and mannerisms made me reminisce about Meena Kumari in Pakeezah and Rekha in Umrao Jaan; but Bhansali’s Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala) and Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha) will also leave their marks on Bollywood enthusiasts.
These kothas or salons were patronized by men who lived in big kothis or mansions, and were accepted as an integral part of the Lahori culture. As the audience indulges in the aesthetic feast of softly illuminated sets with Persian chandeliers, sheer curtains, velvet drapes, vintage portraits, and playful fountains in luxurious doll houses, the ladies of the kothas – dressed in designer sharara sets and anarkalis in subtle ochres, violets, dove grays – get ready to regale.
They raise their manicured hands in a charming adab, their shimmering clothes fitting their contours like gloves. It is difficult to imagine that such beauty is riddled with a convoluted backstory of relentless ambition, passion, desire, subterfuge, and rivalry—an inescapable part of the tawaif’s destiny.
Outstanding female performances
Sanjay Leela Bhansali pits great female actors against each other. Manisha Koirala as Mallikajaan rules her Shahi Mahal with a hard heart. No one can stand in her reign as the queen of Heeramandi, not her sister Rehana, nor her sister Farida, not even her own children, Bibbo Jaan, and the young Alamzeb, who wants to be a poetess.
Her knowledge of her craft makes her the best tawaif, not necessarily the best mother, sister, or aunt. But behind the exquisite makeup, elaborate jhoomars, jhumkas, and henna-painted hands and legs, the women are slaves of their destiny. They are trapped in the diamond-studded cage of Heera Mandi; and because they can’t escape it, they fight each other tooth and nail to grab something, anything – a man’s affection, an expensive ring, a favor, the keys to a dream house.
While Aditi Rao Hydari makes a mark as the sensuous Bibbo Jaan who loses her “sahib” to her cousin, it is Sonakshi Sinha who steals the show with her powerful performance as the glamorous, devil-may-care Fareedan, who has too many tricks up her embroidered sleeve. Not only does she steal the khwabgah (dreamhouse) from Mallikajaan, she also makes Mallikajaan eat the humble pie on many occasions. These tit-for-tat gambits are very unexpected and amusing.
Richa Chadha as Lajjo gives a heart-rending performance of a jilted lover who cannot come to terms with her two-faced nawab. Sanjeeda Sheikh as Waheeda tries her best to regain some level of solidarity by aligning herself with Fareedan, but learns that exacting revenge against Mallikajaan is almost impossible because of the quicksand of rivalries, alliances, and betrayals in their lives.
The Value of Freedom
The homely Punjabi-speaking maids Satto and Fatto provide the glue to the story. The inimitable ustadji – with his over-expressive eyes, feminine mannerisms, and greed — knows everyone’s secrets and feeds on the courtesans by giving them information. Ultimately, when tragedy strikes the ladies, they bravely let go of their personal trajectories and unite. These women, whom the British officers demeaned as nautch girls, march on the streets against the Raj, because they understand the value of freedom.
Bhansali elevates the triumphs and tribulations of the tawaifs of Heeramandi and forces us to contemplate the complexities of identity, gender roles, agency, the pursuit of happiness, and what makes one’s life fulfilled.
