Sanjeeda Shaikh doesn’t care about the criticism that Heeramandi has received for historical inaccuracies: ‘Nobody can match Sanjay Leela Bhansali’

Sanjeeda Shaikh, who portrays the role of Waheeda in Heeramandi, defended filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali against criticism for historical inaccuracies in the show.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | May 15, 2024 03:47 PM IST

3 min read

Sanjeeda Shaikh opened up about being a single mother. (Photo: Sanjeeda/Instagram)

While Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut streaming series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, is garnering praise for its opulence and breathtaking visuals, it’s also facing criticism for perceived historical inaccuracies. In a recent interaction, Sanjeeda Shaikh, who portrays the role of Waheeda in the show, shared her views on the criticism.

Speaking to Bollywood Bubble, she stated, “There are different type of people. I think we should focus on the positive. As a maker, Sanjay is respected in the industry for his brilliant mind and he is so honest and authentic with his thoughts that nobody can match him. We have done our job and people have loved us so I don’t really care whether other people didn’t like it. You can say whatever you want. Even to criticise it, you had to watch it. You can say whatever you want but I am super proud of Heeramandi’s journey.”

Earlier, Sonakshi Sinha, who plays the antagonist in the show, also defended Bhansali. She insisted that Heeramandi is inspired by the real place Heeramandi in Lahore but the makers never promised a historical account. She also emphasised how it’s a fictional world created by Bhansali. She told ETimes, “He’s selling you the idea of a dream and a vision, and that’s what he’s known for.”

Heeramandi is set in pre-Independence Lahore, in the world of courtesans and noblemen who lived in the real-life district of Hira Mandi. A recent BBC report featured a lifelong local resident offering insight into the neighborhood’s evolution of Heeramandi over the years and how it has nothing in common with the Heeramandi depicted in Bhansali’s show.

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

A resident told the news agency, “The huge sets shown in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi have nothing in common with the ground reality here. These houses were the ‘kothas’, they had elaborate interiors, but it wasn’t a grand place. The women would stand on ‘jharokhas’ and wait for their clients. They would climb up the stairs and watch them perform. But the state that these houses are in now is the same state that those women are in as well. Those old houses have mostly been destroyed…”

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