Sanjay Leela Bhansali reveals he wanted to cast Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan in Heeramandi: ‘It was a film back then’

Sanjay Leela Bhansali recently admitted that he wanted to cast Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan in Heeramandi. The series is based on pre-partition India.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is finally available for streaming. In a recent interview with Lilly Singh during the Los Angeles premiere of Heeramandi, Sanjay revealed that Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan were his first choice. (Also read: Heeramandi review: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's sprawling, sparkling debut show is blissfully free of his cinematic trappings)

Mahira-Fawad were earlier choice for Heeramandi

Sanjay Leela Bhansali recently revealed that he wanted to cast Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan in Heeramandi.

While recalling his vision for the story since past 18 years, the filmmaker admitted that back then it was supposed to be a film. When quizzed about the casting process, he said, “I had multiple castings in my mind, the idea has been there for 18 years. I thought about Rekha ji and then Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. It was a film back then. I then also thought about Mahira Khan, the Pakistani actress, and Imran Abbas and Fawad Khan were also in my mind at one point of time. But I ended up with this ensemble cast.”

Sanjay Leela Bhansali calls Heeramandi 'milestone journey'

Heeramandi features Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Sharmin Segal, Adhyayan Suman, Shekhar Suman, Fardeen Khan and Farida Jalal in crucial roles. While Shekhar is playing the character of Nawab Zulfikar, Adhyayan essays Nawab Zoravar in the period drama series. Heeramandi is set in the backdrop of Indian freedom movement against the British colonial rule in the 1940s. The story revolves around the courtesans living in red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore, British India (present-day Pakistan). Heeramandi is available for streaming on Netflix.