Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
Indian directorSanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut Netflix historical drama,Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, stirred up a lot of interest and became one of the highly anticipated series of 2024. Expectations from people were high considering Bhansali’s portfolio, which includes masterpieces such asDevdas(starringShah Rukh Khan),Padmaavat(starringDeepika Padukone), andGangubai Kathiawadi(starringAlia Bhatt). With its release on May 1,Heeramandi, becameone of the most expensiveIndian original Netflix shows that has ever been produced.
Heeramandiis an Indian period drama based in pre-independence Lahore and centers on the lives of courtesans of that era who were also known as “Tawaifs”.Tawaifs were female musicians, dancers, and artists who would entertain the nobility of the Indian subcontinentduring the Mughal era. However, with changing times, these women performers were forced into sex work. The show depicts Heeramandi’s Tawaifs going through personal conflicts during theIndian freedom movement of 1947.
Heeramandipromised to be a dazzling display of Indian filmmaking. Unfortunately, it received loads of criticism after its debut as people complained it failed to meet the mark.Many complained about the show’shistorical inaccuraciesin geography, costume design, and language, along withover-the-topexaggeration of the courtesan’s reality. WhereHeeramandicertainly served stunning visuals and didn’t exactly promise to be historically accurate, within the criticisms, there were valid points to consider regarding its filmmaking.
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar
Exploring the lives of women in a renowned marketplace, the series delves into their daily struggles and triumphs amid the glittering world of diamond trading. The narrative highlights their complex relationships and the societal changes sweeping through India, offering a dramatic exploration of resilience and transformation.
‘Heeramandi’ Tried To Do Too Much
One aspect whereHeeramandifailed to serve its audience was its rushed pacing. The script had loads to offer. However, theproduction team failed to execute the storywithin its runtime of 8 episodes. The series follows the individual personal struggles of each courtesan and, by the end, tries to connect everything with an independence movement arc. While jumping from one character arc to another, the series loses its central plot, forcing the storytellers to make sacrifices for a decent enough ending.
The plot ofHeeramandiswiftly switches focus from one character to anotherwithout giving the character’s emotional moments enough space to breathe. This also leads toviewers not getting enough time to build connections with the charactersand the overall story. Moreover, midway through the series, as there isn’t enough time to properly address the Indian Independence movement arc, the character motivations and goals are dropped to salvage it. Unfortunately, that made most of the characters seem inconsistent and one-dimensional. The series was called out for beingtoo ambitious and trying to do way more than it had space for.Heeramandiis filled with marvelous architecture, beautiful symmetrical shots, and glittery outfits, butit fails at storytelling and emotional narrative complexity.
Heeramandi’s Rushed Pacing Ruined These Characters
Most of the characters suffered as a result of this rushed pacing. Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala), Waheedajaan (Sanjeeda Sheikh), and Alamzeb’s (Sharmin Segal) character arcs were sacrificed to speed up the plot to fit within the eight episodes. Mallikajaan is introduced as a strict authoritarian head-Tawaif of Heeramandi. However, her character switches motives every few episodes, especially with her interactions with her daughter, Alamzeb. Rather than having a subtle character development, Mallikajaan is consistently used as a plot device. Similarly, Alamzeb, who is introduced as a passionate girl with a strong desire to become a poet, is suddenly turned into a love-sick girl who keeps sacrificing herself for a man. Her writing career, which was vital to her character, is taken out of focus after Episode 1. Thisswitching of wants and intentions makes their characters inconsistent, hence, unrealistic and hard to understand for the viewers.
This would also include the example of the side character, Wali Bin Zayed (Fardeen Khan), whose backstabbing didn’t make sense because he was introduced as a man sincerely head-over-heels in love with Bibbojaan (Aditi Rao Hydari), smitten enough to want to marry her. Yet in Episode 4, he is suddenly and easily manipulated by Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha).
On the other hand, Waheedajaan is introduced as someone drowning so deep in insecurities that she constantly feels jealousy and rivalry towards her own sister and daughter.Her feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy had a huge potentialto move the audience emotionally, but again, the viewers are not given enough time to sympathize with her. Throughout the story, Waheeda is only brought to the spotlight to be used as a plot device for other characters.
First ‘Heeramandi’ Teaser Reveals Bollywood Icon Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Lavish Netflix Series
The new series follows courtesans in pre-independence India.
Meanwhile, a character that deserved more space in the script was Mallikajaan’s rival, Fareedan. Fareedan returns vengefully to Heeramandi years after being sold off to the market by Mallikajaan.Her character’s story after she left Heeramandi as a child is an important factor for the plotand for viewers to connect with her character. Yet it is only verbally told without any visual imagery, making her villainous character not impactful enough.
The independence movement arc, which was neglected in the early episodes, is suddenly introduced in the ending episodes, making it hard for the viewers to digest the courtesan’s sudden interest in the movement. It seems thatHeeramanditried to accomplish way more than what could fit within its eight-episode count. It had a lot to say, but it seems that it wasn’t given enough space to shine.The story starts to fall apart with character and plot inconsistencies after Episode 4, as there is too much to show but not enough space, leading to an improper and rushed ending. Perhaps certain arcs of the show would have benefited from a longer episode count.
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaaris available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
