[Lifestyle] Heeramandi additional director on Sanjay Leela Bhansali sets: 99 retakes, 600 people, Sharmin Segal’s criticism and filmmaker’s maddening drive to perfection

[Wolf.17]

 

In 2002, when Snehil Dixit Mehra was in Kota, Rajasthan, preparing for IIT, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Devdas hit the big screen. The Shah Rukh Khan-Aishwarya Rai-Madhuri Dixit starrer drama swept her off her feet. Snehil watched it multiple times as she was drawn into Bhansali’s “cinematic world” of grandeur, beauty, detailing, costume and storytelling; unaware that 20 years later, she would be on the sets of his streaming debut Heeramandi, being part of his writing team and on board as an additional director on the biggest Netflix show of India.

“When I met Sanjay sir, I joked that it is because of you I couldn’t become an IITian!”Snehil Dixit Mehra tells Indianexpress.com as she sits down to chat about Heeramandi, which has become an unmissable talking point on the internet, for those who have bought into the world of Bhansali and also for those who have ripped it apart.

 

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, based on the courtesans of Lahore and the life of red-light district in undivided India released on May 1 and starred Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chaddha, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sharmin Segal.In an interview with Indianexpress.com, Snehil Dixit Mehra talks about how a Sanjay Leela Bhansali set functions, why the filmmaker is notoriously perfectionist, the criticism of the show that it glorifies courtesans and the unkind reception that the filmmaker’s actor niece, Sharmin, is facing post the release.So, Sanjay sir is the director of the entire series. There are portions in an episode… Because it is a mammoth show with so many characters, an additional director is someone who can fill in the gaps. While sir is shooting for a big sequence, a smaller part is given to the additional director, which is under the supervision of SLB, because we are catering to his vision. We would have parallel units. So, if there is a scene with revolutionaries discussing their plans, it would come my way. There was also Mitakshara Kumar, his longtime associate, who was also an Additional Director on the show. So, our work was divided completely.

https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/heeramandi-additional-director-on-sanjay-leela-bhansali-sets-sharmin-segals-criticism-filmmakers-maddening-perfection-9320323/