At FICCI Frames 2024, Sonakshi Sinha shared an adorable anecdote about her casting in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming OTT show, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, and attributed it to a change in her liquor preference.
Sonakshi, who played Fareedan in the drama about Lahore’s red-light district, expressed her admiration for the filmmaker’s portrayal of women on screen. “Sanjay sir and I have been trying to work together for many years and I am happy that it worked out with Heeramandi. The way he portrays his women on screen is something that no one can do.
Highlighting Sanjay’s unique vision and care for female characters, she explained, “He has a very different take on it even though it’s all a masterpiece. He pays a lot of attention to the way his characters, women, are portrayed on screen and I appreciate that.”
Talking about Heeramandi, a Netflix series with several female stars, Sonakshi praised Sanjay for giving equal importance to all the characters, making it a great project to be a part of. “In Heeramandi, we have six different women with six different stories to tell and each one has its meaning. It’s great to be part of something like this. The fact that Netflix allows us to operate on a global scale and reach so many people is something everyone should be able to see. I’m so happy to be a part of it.
After working with the black director, Sonakshi said she became a more patient and resilient actress. “I came away with a more patient and resilient actor. That’s a good thing, and good things take time and great things take longer. Being involved in something like this takes a lot of patience. I think I came away from Heeramandi as a much stronger actor.
Sonakshi expressed her desire to be challenged as an actress at this stage of her career and thanked the famous filmmaker for her confidence. “Every actor craves challenges. I grew and learned through experiences. I started everything again. For me, each experience was something I cherished because I learned a lot from everyone I worked with. This brought me to the point where Sanjay Leela Bhansali had faith in me to offer me a role of Fareedan, which is very complex.