Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, has been making headlines ever since it was released on the streaming platform Netflix. While a segment of the viewers appreciated the grandeur of the filmmaker’s OTT debut project and the performances of the star-studded cast, others lashed out at him for casting his niece, Sharmin Segal in a pivotal role. Now, in an interview with India Today, Sanjay Leela Bhansali bared his heart out on the behind-the-scenes of Heeramandi.
During the interview, Bhansali shared a poignant anecdote about the creation of the song, Masoom Dil Hai Mera, featuring Richa Chadha. He vividly recalled the day of the shoot, when the actress’ performance was not meeting his expectations. Bhansali's frustration reached a tipping point, leading to a heated exchange with Richa, and had lashed out at her. Following this, the actress became upset as well. In his words:
“That was a special moment. But unka baith nahi raha tha. She was trying, but I wasn’t getting what I wanted. After a point, I got a little upset. I said, ‘You’ve rehearsed it, but it’s still not falling in place, you’re not getting the state of mind’. I got a little angry, and she became upset as well.”
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Sanjay Leela Bhansali called the moment special because Richa could feel the anger and humiliation she needed to express the feelings of her on-screen character, ‘Lajjoo’. The director further added that of all the songs he has shot to date, Masoom Dil Hai Mera turned out to be special due to this rare moment. Adding that Richa understood that shooting the song was more important than storming out of the set, SLB said:
“The anger on her face was so special. That moment was a result of what I said to her and what she said to me. In all the songs I’ve shot, big numbers, this is one of the rare moments of the actor feeling the humiliation of the scene that she went through rather than feeling the humiliation of me getting angry and saying, ‘How many takes will you want?’ The anger was from both sides, but you need to be in that state of mind. Another actor might have stormed off the set in anger, but Richa and I both understood that the shot is more important, the song is more important, the scene is more important, the series is more important than either of us.”
Heeramandi’s director also mentioned that when the shot was over, he and Richa hugged it out. He said that the entire crew applauded after the scene and then they apologised to one another. SLB also talked about the importance of ‘arriving at that moment’. Recalling the actual scene when he was watching the show, SLB said:
“I went and hugged her, and we forgot about all that had happened before the shot. But sometimes, you have to arrive at that moment. An actor has to be ready to arrive at that moment. A director has to wait and bring the actor to that moment. When I was watching it, I thought, ‘She’s actually crying’. She held on to every beat. Till the last moment, she didn’t let go of that anger and frustration.”
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Richa Chadha had a limited role in the eight-episode series, Heeramandi. However, during an interview with PTI, the actress said that her risk paid off. While she was afraid that her role as ‘Lajjo’ might get lost amid such a huge storyline and the performances of the others, she’s glad that it did not happen. In her words:
“I'm really happy that the risk paid off because it was a risky part to play. It's so small and there's always a risk that it'll get lost in the eight episodes with all the actors that are there. (It's a) big star cast and other people are also getting a lot of love. So, for that reason, I was afraid a little bit that it might get lost, but I'm really glad it hasn't.”
What do you think of Richa Chadha’s mujra in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi?
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