‘Looking forward to seeing Sanjay Leela Bhansali at the Emmys next year for Heeramandi,’ says Nikhil Advani: ‘Foreigners want exotica’

Heeramandi marks Sanjay Leela Bhansali's OTT debut, which will premiere on Netflix. Nikhil Advani believes that the show has the potential to be a global hit.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi will premiere on Netflix. (Photo: Varinder Chawla/Instagram/bhansaliproductions)

Filmmaker Nikhil Advani, who has directed films like Kal Ho Naa Ho, Salaam-E-Ishq, and more, has predicted that that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi will be a global hit. He even went on to say that he can picture Bhansali being at the Golden Globes next year for his Netflix show.

In an interview with Film Companion, Nikhil discussed the expectations of the Indian diaspora from the content that comes out of India and said that they still like to watch mythological content. “I have been shooting in places like Khejarla, Patiala, the amount of exposure that the audience in India has to the West, I don’t think Indian diaspora has. What they want to watch is the mythos. They still want their children to go to Bhagvad Geeta classes. So when they suddenly see a big film, with a big Indian actor challenging that, they reject it,” he said.

When asked about Indian OTT shows that are trying to break into the global market, Nikhil brought up the Korean show Squid Game and said that so far, none of the Indian shows have achieved that level of global success. But he added that Heeramandi has the potential to be that hit from India.

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“Why are we not doing Squid Games numbers? People who are watching Family Man are there, it’s there on your platform, it’s there on your service. I think what will break everything is Heeramandi, globally,” he said and added in jest, “After Padmaavat the Indian diaspora was doing ghoomar in San Francisco.”

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Nikhil backed up his belief by saying that the global image of India is that of an exotic land with snake charmers and many countries in the West still look at India through that lens. He added that this perception was further solidified by SS Rajamouli’s RRR which also presented India as an exotic land. “Now, the West will watch because what is it that we have? We have snake charmers and elephants, right? Unfortunately, we have been the country of snake charmers. But foreigners want that only. They still come in for exotica. RRR was an exotica,” Nikhil said.

Nikhil feels Netflix will push Heeramandi on the global stage. “I am looking forward to seeing Bhansali at the Golden Globes and Emmys next year. I think what Monica (Shergill) and the company did with RRR, they will do with Heeramandi,” he said.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, has Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s trademark grandeur. It stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chaddha, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sharmin Segal.

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