Heeramandi: Aditi Rao Hydari Recalls Challenging Filming Experience With Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Says He Didn’t Allow her to Eat Lunch

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is grabbing all the headlines for his OTT debut show Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. While some are appreciating the show, others are giving it major backlash and criticism. Now, in a recent interview, Aditi Rao Hydari, who essays the role of Bibbojaan made some shocking revelations about the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The actor recounted an incident during the shooting where Bhansali’s direction initially didn’t click with her due to exhaustion and post-Covid recovery. Despite initially struggling to meet his expectations, her admiration for his dedication fueled her to eventually deliver the desired performance. 

During an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Aditi said,  “That happened during the shooting of the first mujra. We started our shoot with ‘Hath hojao‘, which was the first mujra I did. I had also just recovered from Covid at that time. By the end of the first day… the costume was heavy and my brain was not taking in any more.”

The actor further added, “I could see what he was telling me, I could understand it, but the firing wasn’t happening. But, trust me, what he was saying made complete sense. I was so disappointed in myself because I knew he didn’t get what he wanted. But, just before we wrapped, we got it. My thing here was that he believed so much in us so I never wanted to see him disappointed.”

Talking more about the role, Hydari mentioned that Sanjay used to tease her for finding it challenging to portray anger convincingly. He also highlighted that Hydari’s inclination was towards more subtle expressions of emotion. She recounted a distinctive moment where Bhansali’s storytelling and method of motivating her, by skipping a lunch break to elevate her performance. 

“He used to say, ‘If I say angry scene, she’ll do one love scene with full Shringar bhav,‘ about me. And he’s right. For me, to be angry is the most tiring thing, especially the very outward anger. And I have to be this passionate, rousing girl (here). I have to make all these people (the other characters) believe in what I’m saying. One day, we did two or three takes, and then, he just called me very sweetly and he started speaking to me. I immediately got taken into another world.” 

She further added, “He speaks very beautifully and he speaks from his heart, so it’s very passionate, and I had tears in my eyes. And then he said we were going to shoot this scene and gave everybody a lunch break, except me. He asked, ‘Is that okay?’ I was like, ‘Done’. So I didn’t eat and it really helped me. It kept me on the edge and not soft. So I went back to my van, and I just thought about everything that he said. He basically told me a story. I came back, and we shot it and it was okay.” 

Apart from Aditi Rao Hydari, the series also features Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Sehgal and Sanjeeda Sheikh as tawaifs. Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman, and Adhyayan Suman portray the role of Nawabs.