Bhansali reveals he wanted to cast Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas in ‘Heeramandi’

Bhansali has revealed that he wanted to cast Pakistani actors such as Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, and Imran Abbas in his Netflix debut series ‘Heeramandi’.

The acclaimed Indian filmmaker’s recently released series ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ is already the talk of the town on Netflix within a day of its release.

Bhansali, who was discussing his vision for the big-budget show at its Los Angeles premiere, opened up about his original plan to make the show a film, starring Rekha, Kareena Kapoor, and Rani Mukerji.

You can click here to watch Bhansali’s video.

Bhansali claimed that the concept for Heeramandi had been with him for 18 years, but the movie never came to be because the story was so big.

Bhansali revealed that this was his idea when Heeramandi was “supposed to be a film”, as the host expressed her surprise.

The director and producer also revealed that he had even considered casting Pakistani actors Imran Abbas, Fawad Khan, and Mahira Khan in the project at one point, but “then it all changed.”

Heeramandi is set in the world of courtesans and nawabs in pre-independence Lahore.

At the end of the talk, SLB expressed his satisfaction with the current cast. Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Taha Shah, Fardeen Khan, and Shekhar Suman are among the stars who are part of Heeramandi.

Bhansali revealed in the same chat that he shot for the show for more than 300 days. According to him, the series has been in development for nearly three years.