Jason Shah, who portrayed the role of British officer Cartwright in the series Heeramandi, revealed that Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not direct many of his scenes.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s web series Heeramandi created a massive buzz among the audience when it was released on OTT giant Netflix. The show had a star-studded cast, including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal Mehta, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Jason Shah and others. Now, in a recent interview, Jason, who portrayed the role of British officer Cartwright, claimed that SLB had limited involvement on the set and did not direct many of his scenes. As a result, he believed his potential was not completely realised.
While speaking on Inside the Mind with Rushabh podcast, Jason said, “It was his first time (doing a web series). Film is a little different because the web is a little stretched, you’ve got a lot of episodes to make, and it’s not made in a short time. He also wasn’t directing that much. I had other directors with me. I just felt we could’ve worked on it a little more, and a lot more colour could’ve come out. It had the capacity, I feel.” Jason said that if he had expressed his creative differences any further than he already did, he would have been labelled a ‘troublemaker‘ on the set of the show.
Adding more, the actor revealed that there was a ‘lack of communication’ on the sets of Heeramandi. “What didn’t happen was the depth of the character. If you look at Gandhi, with Ben Kingsley, they really show how far racism can go, and the dichotomy between who someone thinks they are, and another human being,” he said.
About Heeramandi
Heeramandi: The Diamond Baazar was one of the much-hyped series of 2024. The Netflix series is set against the backdrop of the Indian independence revolution, depicting the clash between the courtesans of Lahore’s Heeramandi red-light district and British Raj officials.
