'If you call it Lahore, show Lahore': Pakistani writer on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Netflix debut Heeramandi has received mixed reactions from viewers to say the least ever since it released on May 1. While some absolutely loved the gorgeous sets and costume design of the series, others could simply not fathom the inauthentic portrayal of the historical period it is set in. 

One such viewer from Pakistan, who goes by the username Hamd Nawaz on X (formerly Twitter), said that she found everything but Heeramandi in the much talked about Netflix series. In a long thread on X, she flayed the makers for inaccurate depiction of events, locations and costumes, while adding it does not represent the 1940s Lahore with much accuracy. 

"Just watched Heeramandi. Found everything but heermandi in it. I mean either you don’t set your story in 1940’s Lahore, or if you do- you don’t set it in Agra’s landscape, Delhi’s Urdu, Lakhnavi dresses and 1840’s vibe. My not-so-sorry Lahori self can’t really let it go (sic)," Nawaz said at the starting of her thread. 

She then proceeded to talk about the issues with the sets, language, dialogues, soundtrack, attires, and other things.

"To begin with, where exactly is it set? Lake Como? Amalfi Coast? The most evident landmark still visible from every building in today's remnants of Heera Mandi is the Shahi Qilla- Grand Mosque's doom and minarets skyline. If you call it Lahore, show Lahore," the user said. 

She added that if one walks through the actual Heera Mandi which is now located in Pakistan, spans from Taxali Gate to modern-day Cheet Ram Road and does not have a single courtyard. "Those were multi-storey 5/10 Marla Kothas/Makans at max. The social/financial strata it shows never even existed," the user wrote. 

She also said that unlike what is shown in the series, Heera Mandi was not a street of glamour but that of exploitation, slavery and filthy poverty. "Also, I didn’t know peer-e-kamil had already been written in the 1940s. Chalo, this is somewhat ignore-able. Anyways Yar, it was not a street of glamour, but of exploitation, slavery and filthy poverty. And those who lived there, at least deserve to be seen as they were."

The Pakistani user also said that the weakest link in the series was "the nepo-baby going around with a frozen face, lip fillers and expressionless, rote Urdu," referring to Sharmin Segal as Alamzeb. 

Vivek Agnihotri on Heeramandi

After sharing her take on Heeramandi series, Hamd Nawaz got a shoutout from The Kashmir Files and Buddha in a Traffic Jam filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri. The filmmaker said while he has not seen the Netflix show, he has visited Heera Mandi in Lahore a few times. He also said that Bollywood has a tendency to "romanticize" courtesans and brothels. 

"I haven’t seen the show, but I have visited Heeramandi in Lahore a few times. Bollywood has this tendency to romanticize courtesans and brothels. It’s a sad commentary because brothels have never been places of opulence, glamour or beauty. These are monuments of human injustice, pain and suffering. Those unfamiliar with this should watch Shyam Benegal’s Mandi," he said. 

Taking an aim at Heeramandi director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Agnihotri questioned whether creativity gave filmmakers the freedom to glamorise human suffering and portray slum dwellers wearing clothes as if they are going to attend the Ambani wedding.

"Also, a question we must ask: Does creativity give us the freedom to glamorize human suffering? Is it okay to make a film where slum life is depicted as a life of abundance? Is it okay to portray slum dwellers wearing clothes as if they are attending an Ambani wedding? Pl discuss," he said further. 

Heeramandi review

"But as you continue to watch eight episodes of 45 minutes or so each, all the razzle dazzle weighing on your tired eyes, you wonder if Heeramandi is all too perfect and...all so weepy (we get the gist, it is all misery everywhere). The clothes are too perfect, the jewellery all too perfect, the dialogues are all too perfect… and it might make you uneasy with its manicure," Business Today's review of Heeramandi series read.