‘Sanjay Leela Bhansali kept me hungry for a day during Heeramandi shoot’, recalls Aditi Rao Hydari: ‘I was struggling’

Aditi Rao Hydari played the role of Bibbojaan, a courtesan, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi. The actor shared how she was worried before a few scenes.

Aditi Rao Hydari charmed one and all with her performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi. She played a courtesan named Bibbojaan who transforms into a rebellious freedom fighter. The actor opened up about the experience of shooting the series, and how Bhansali even kept her starving before the day she had to film an important scene. (Also read: Aditi Rao Hydari, Siddharth ‘manifest Mani Ratnam love movie’ with unseen pics from exotic wedding photoshoot)

What Aditi Rao Hydari said

During the roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, when the host asked whether there were any specific scenes that kept the actor awake on how they could do it, Aditi said, “For me, it was my two mujras. I have grown up dancing since I was a little girl, but mujra was a very different form of dancing. I had learnt Bharatnatyam, but this was Kathak and it was Kathak through the eyes of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is perfectionist max and also knows a lot. And it was about getting it right and not disappointing him. That really gave me sleepless nights.”

‘I had to give rousing speeches’

She added, “The scenes where I had to give rousing speeches, Sanjay sir kept me hungry for a day because these scenes don’t come naturally and I did it very happily because it truly helped me… hangry help! I was really struggling with these scenes and he used to pull my leg that if I will ask her to give me a rousing scene, she will make it look like a shringaar scene. So he said, ‘don’t eat’. I was very happy and thanked him.”

The Netflix show is set in the backdrop of the Indian independence revolution. The series showcases the clash between the courtesans of the red-light district of Heeramandi in Lahore and the officials during the British Raj. It also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman, and Adhyayan Suman. A second season is already in the works.