Heeramandi- the diamond bazar/ 

As SLB’s productions go, #HeeraMandi has all the drama, intrigue, touch of history, emotion and vendetta that have marked his previous outings. The storyline is dominated by #ManishaKoirala as MallikaJaan, the big boss and the reigning Queen of one of the central pleasure houses of Lahore’s HeeraMandi, with a daughter Bibbojaan ( #AditiRaoHyadri) a singer and a dancer, who secretly leads the life of an active revolutionary in the war against the oppressive British rule.  There is another daughter Alamzeb, (#SharminSegal) who doesn’t want to be a courtesan but aspires to be a poet instead. MallikaJaan has a gory past regarding her sister whose spitting image of a daughter, Fareedan (#SonakshiSinha), soon stages her arrival in Lahore; coming replete with a plan to avenge the various wrongs committed against her by Mallika Jaan, to dethrone her and claim her legacy as the undisputed lady boss of Shahi Mahal. But Fareedan’s game is as much about power and control as about revenge.

Interspersed with the unfolding of MallikaJaan’s culpability is the love story of Alamzeb and Tajdaar, ( #TahaShah) the Oxford educated scion of one of the several Nawab families in Lahore. They wine and dine with the imperialist power and pay fealty to them, notwithstanding the British cruelty, ruthlessness and brutal subjugation of people, their infamous corruption and the unleashing of a reign of terror in the war of independence waging outside the fantasy world of Shahi Mahal. How the issues will resolve is what holds the interest together but the disjointed glueing of various sub-plots, along with failed performances by some key actors, is the cause why the webseries falls short of expectations.

So far as the craft of film making  is concerned it has the right ingredients that have architected SLB’s success as a film maker in the past; It has grandeur, it has opulence, it has great set designs, it has elaborate period costumes and enchanting jewellery.. The set design, play of colour, light and sound, the art direction are all scintillating and manage to elevate the series. After all, SLB’s craft always excels

But is a good production only about the format? What about the content, the soul? It has a good story line, set in pre Independence India in Lahore. Manisha Koirala takes your breath away with her elegance and flawed beauty; her wrinkles and lines and scars all contribute to the devious character that she assays with aplomb. She acts and looks the part. Sonakshi Sinha also turns out a convincing portrayal of the wronged and vengeful niece, an evil force. So does Sanjeeda Sheikh as Waheeda, another sister of MallikaJaan’s, who holds many a secret close to her chest. Farida Jalal remains cherubic and loveable as the Grandmother of the love- interest of Alamzeb. So far as #RichaChaddha is concerned, I was left wondering that there must be a reason, not related to the storyline,  for her to make such an early exit from the series. 

Sharmin Sehgal had the strongest role in the webseries, but turns out the #weakest #performance. Her entire repertoire of acting is limited to giving trance-like, vacant looks at some imaginary, diagonal spot on the set, with a permanently frozen and expressionless face. Believe me there were enough opportunities for her to show off her talent and realise her potential  but she just couldn’t emote! Shekhar Suman is alright but his son Adhyan Suman and Fardeen Khan who returns to screen after nearly two decades, have bite sized roles in the great smorgasboard of characters and they add virtually nothing to the overall impact of the drama. Some of the other male characters who play the debauched nawabs and their handsome sons leave some impression eg Taha Shah  and his father.

But the subject matter itself ie the life and times of #Tawaifs ( courtesans) their rivalries,  broken hearts, suicides, murders, their larger than life influence on the Nawabi era, their wealth, their power structure- everything  is so disconnected with reality that one wonders! . One has read that It was a life of drudgery, exploitation,even poverty and misery that the Tawaifs led, not of such resplendence and grandeur. But one can dismiss the thought as being Bhansali’s imagination and his poetic licence to interpret society as he wishes. However, how does he play out the story so close to #1947 and have a whole sub plot of revolutionaries trying to create disturbances, yet not say a word about the #MuslimLeague and the demand for  #Partition? That is really  baffling.

The series falls short of expectations but there’s something about Bhansali and his treatment of women. As in his other films he provides some dignity and grace to women who are not paragons of virtue and who may have led questionable lives. His delineation of their characters is non moralistic and non judgemental. For that reason alone, and for the craft of film making, the series can be watched. But what to say except Yeh DiL Mange More from SLB!