Sonakshi Sinha played the role of Fareendan in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. (Photo: Instagram)
Sonakshi Sinha slammed those criticising Heeramandi and reminded all that the makers had never promised a “history lesson”.
Even though Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s OTT debut Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is getting a positive response from the audience, some are also questioning it for allegedly not presenting historical facts right. In a recent interview, Sonakshi Sinha slammed those criticising Heeramandi and reminded all that the makers had never promised a “history lesson”.
Sonakshi took a dig at Heeramandi critics and argued that these are the same people who will watch the British drama, Bridgerton. “When did we ever promise a history lesson? These are the same people who will love Bridgerton. Yes, Heera Mandi is a place that exists in Lahore, but we never told you we were delving into history. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is an artist; he has created a world for you. It’s a fictionalised version of what was and view it as just entertainment. He’s selling you a dream; it’s what he’s known for,” she told E-Times as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Sonakshi Sinha played the role of Fareendan in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. On Wednesday, the actress took to her Instagram handle to share a series of photos from her look test from the series. “Rehana aapa. AAPA NAHI… HUZOOR!!! Here are some photos from my look test for the cruellest of them all, Rehana. Since I was supposed to be playing my own mother, we wanted to make her slightly different… so I put on some weight and we added a lot more drama with the hair where it was longer and curlier than fareedans and with the makeup where we kept it heavy on the eyes, elongated the eyebrows and added freckles… green lenses too! Full props to my amazing glam team @heemaadattaani and @themadhurinakhale,” she wrote.
What adds character to Sonakshi’s Fareedan in Heeramandi is the fact that she’s a woman with a fluid gender, an aspect that the makers subtly hinted at rather than exploring it in a more elaborate fashion. Previously, in an exclusive conversation with News18 Showsha, Sonakshi talked about the same when she told us, “Initially, sir (Bhansali) had told me that Fareedan is very fluid. At that point of time, a lot of it did happen. And in a place like Heeramandi, people were very open about it. Even Ustadji is very openly a gay man. Sir wanted to explore it in different ways. What Fareedan has been through in her life also has impacted her in a way.”
Besides Sonakshi, Heeramandi also stars Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal Mehta, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Jason Shah, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman in key roles. It is currently streaming on Netflix.
